Welcome to the Family
by CMLangdon
Summary: Trunks & Pan have hated one another for years & had always done their best to avoid each other. When their parents get married, however, they're forced to live in the same house together as step siblings. Will the close proximity bring together the two young Saiyans or will it only cause their mutual hatred to grow? WARNING: sexual content in later chapters.
1. Welcome to the Family

**Welcome to my new story! I hope everyone enjoys it :)**

 **Pan- 18 (Goku & Chi Chi's daughter)**

 **Trunks- 24**

 **Gohan- 33**

 **Goten-23**

 **Bulla- 17**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them & making them do what I want. Also, I do not own the songs I use as my story title & chapter titles. **

**Chapter One: Welcome to the Family**

Pan stared at her reflection in the floor length mirror in her best friend- & soon-to-be stepsister- Bulla's bedroom. Today was the day Pan's father married her mother & it was a day she had been dreading since she & her brothers were told the "happy" news. As the young Saiyan looked with sad eyes at the girl staring back at her with her beautiful blue bridesmaid dress & perfectly curled hair & flawless make up, she couldn't help but think of that terrible day three months ago.

 _ **Flashback**_

"We're getting married!"

Pan blinked, not really sure what was going on. "Who's getting married?"

Her father, Goku, rolled his eyes. "Me & Bulma, Panny."

Her eyes went wide with shock & she stood abruptly from her seat on the couch at Capsule Corp. "What?! I didn't even know you two were dating!"

"We've been keeping our relationship a secret because we didn't want to upset you or the boys." Goku explained.

The raven-haired girl looked to the side where Goten & Gohan were standing. Her brothers definitely didn't look like they approved. There mother had only died less than a year ago from some illness the doctor couldn't identify. The Son family were all still mourning her death; or at least Pan thought they all were. Apparently, her dad decided to shack up with a woman who was like an aunt to her.

"I don't know what to say," Goten mumbled.

"Yeah, me neither," Gohan said.

"Well I do," Pan chimed in. "I can't believe you would remarry so soon after putting Mom in the ground. That's disrespectful to her memory."

Goku sighed. "Pan, I miss your mother very much. That's how Bulma & I ended up together actually. She's been lonely since Vegeta left her & I've been lost without Chi Chi. We found comfort in each other."

"Congratulations then," she spat. "I hope you two are very happy together." _Not._

With that, Pan walked out of the room. Goku called her name, but she kept walking. Angry tears stung the girl's eyes but she refused to let them fall. She hated crying, especially in public. She couldn't understand, though, how he could move on so fast. Her parents had been married for over thirty years. How could he so easily replace her only months after her death. It didn't seem right.

Pan was so lost in thought as she stormed away that she didn't see the man in front of her until she ran right into him. His arms shot out, catching her before she fell. Looking up, Pan found herself staring into the blue eyes of Trunks Brief.

He smirked down at her & that was when she realized he was still holding her. His smirk grew when she pushed him away & took a step back.

"Hey, Son. Nice to see you again."

"I can't say the feeling is mutual, Brief."

Trunks & Pan had hated each other for years. They used to be really close growing up, she even had a huge crush on him at one point; but as Pan got older, he became more distant. When they saw each other at parties & group sparring sessions, he would always have a snide comment ready or he would make some cruel joke at her expense. At first, it made her burst out in tears, but after a few years, she grew numb to it all & cold towards him.

"You're especially bitchy today; why's that?" he asked, still smirking.

"Because I ran into your dumb ass," she shot him a glare. "That's enough to ruin anyone's day."

He snorted. "Please, Son. I'm sure you ran into me on purpose. You know if you want to touch me, all you have to do is ask." He proceeded to wink at her again & Pan pretended to gag.

"Don't make me sick. The only time I'll ever want to touch you is when I'm kicking your ass."

Trunks chuckled. "Fat chance. You've never been able to kick my ass, Panny. You're just a child."

Her nostrils flared at being called a child. That was her biggest pet peeve & he knew it. "Fuck you," she snarled.

"Sure, why not?. That sounds like a fun way to spend the day. I'm free right now if you want."

Heat spread across the young woman's cheeks. "You're disgusting & I really don't have the energy to deal with you right now."

She started moving around him when he stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Oh, by the way, I heard the happy news. Welcome to the family, _sis_."

Trunks laughed loudly as he walked away, leaving Pan standing in the middle of the hallway, stunned. She was so angry at her dad that she didn't realize what him marrying Bulma would actually mean…but now it was becoming clear. Their marriage meant that the person Pan hated most in this world would become her stepbrother. _Fan-fucking-tastic._

 _ **End Flashback**_

Pan sighed loudly as she turned away from the mirror & slipped on a pair of plain black heels. It was time to plaster on a fake smile & head downstairs. As much as she hated what her father was doing, she didn't want to ruin his & Bulma's big day. So, aside from not showing up, which was a big negative, her only choice was to pretend to be happy. Too bad that was easier said than done.

After dragging herself down the stairs, Pan went to the kitchen to get a drink to quench her suddenly dry throat. There she found Bulla chatting with Marron.

"There's my future sister!" Bulla squealed. "Are you excited for the wedding? I know I am."

"I sure am," Pan lied, fake smile firmly in place.

"I'm so jealous," Marron whined. "You two are going to become sisters & I'll just be your friend. I wish I could be your sister, too. It sucks not having any siblings."

Pan rolled her eyes at the blonde girl for the millionth time since they had met. She was always complaining about one thing or another & it got on her nerves.

"Well, you know," Bulla smiled slyly, "if you marry my brother, you'll become our sister."

Marron's face immediately brightened. "You're right, Bulla. I'm sure I'll be your sister in no time."

For some odd reason, listening to the two girls talk about Marron's & Trunks' supposed future marriage really annoyed Pan. It was almost like she was…jealous? _Is that what I'm feeling? It couldn't be, though; I hate the guy's guts. In fact, he deserves to be married to a girl like Marron; to spend every day of his life with a girl that would bug him as much as he bugs me._ Still…something about it bothered her to no end.

"I didn't even know you & Trunks were dating, Mar," Pan said nonchalantly.

"Oh, we're not," she replied. "At least not yet. We will be soon, though."

"I see. Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks, Panny, but I don't need luck."

Pan had to use all her control to not roll her eyes & scoff. She loved Marron, she really did, but the girl could only be handled in small doses & she had had more than her fill in the two minutes she had been in the kitchen. To be honest, she was almost looking forward to the wedding so she'd have an excuse to get out of there. Luckily for Pan, though, Krillin walked in at that moment to let them know the ceremony was about to begin.

"Hey kids, it's almost time to start this thing." Krillin suddenly appeared in the doorway, smiling wide at the three girls. "Marron, honey, come take your seat with me & your mom. She'll kill me if the wedding starts before we're seated & you know your mom; she's serious," he chuckled nervously.

"Okay, Daddy," The blonde girl hopped off the stool she was perched on & followed her father outside where the wedding was taking place. Bulla & Pan followed after the latter downed a glass of ice water.

"Since you're the maid of honor, you'll be walking down the aisle with Gohan right?" Pan asked her best friend. "He is the best man after all."

"Yup," she replied. "Who are you paired with? Goten?"

"Probably. I missed the rehearsal dinner, but it has to be him."

"That's where you're wrong, Panny," a voice said from behind them.

 _Oh no. Not him. Please, God, tell me I don't have to walk arm in arm with_ him _._ Pan slowly turned around, only to find that her prayers had gone unanswered. Trunks was standing by the foot of the stairs, a cocky smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

He was dressed in a form fitting black tuxedo with a blue tie that matched her dress. She hated to admit it, but he looked incredible. Of course, she would never tell him that to his face, so instead she said, "Brief, to what do I owe the displeasure?"

Trunks walked forward until he stood right in front of her. He looked down at Pan & smiled that obnoxious smirk of his. "You, my dear, have the coveted honor of walking down the aisle with me."

"Hell no! I'd rather light myself on fire. Actually, scratch that. I'd rather light you on fire."

"Son, you couldn't even light a candle, especially with those little ki blasts you call attacks."

She ground her teeth together while she tried to think of a good reason not to kill him; she couldn't think of one. Luckily, for him, though, Bulla jumped between them before she could do anything.

"As amusing as this is, we really have to get in position. The music is going to start soon I think. Behave you two. Do it for our parents."

"Yeah, _sis_ ," Trunks added, "you really should calm down. I know children are prone to tantrums, but try to hold it together, will you?"

"Child? Child?!" He just had to go there again, didn't he? "I am not a child! I am eighteen years old & last I checked, that means I'm legally an adult. If anyone's a child around here, it's you, you immature, pathetic-excuse-for-a-Saiyan prick."

"I'm immature?" Trunks raised a lavender brow, amused. "You're the one name calling."

"You started it," Pan hissed.

"I was just teasing my new little sister," he said & ruffled her hair.

She smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me; & I'm not your little sister. Where's Goten by the way? I thought I was paired with him."

"Nope. He didn't want to be a part of the wedding party. You'd have known that, if you'd bothered to show up to the rehearsal. I guess your early bedtime prevented you from making it, little Panny."

"I wasn't in bed, asshat. Not that it's any of your business, but I had a date & I refused to cancel for that stupid dinner."

Trunks' face darkened, startling Pan. "A date? With who?"

Pan hesitated, the look on his face rendering her speechless as she tried to decipher it. Finally, she asked, "Why the hell do you care?"

Trunks opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of the processional music cut him off. The ceremony was officially beginning & they had to march down the aisle. Gohan & Bulla, Pan & _him_.

"Shit," Bulla cursed. "C'mon, we have to go."

Resigned to her fate, Pan followed Bulla outside where she linked arms with Pan's oldest brother & began the walk down the center aisle. Trunks offered his arm to Pan with an amused grin & she reluctantly took it, all thoughts of Trunks' weird reaction to her date forgotten.

They managed to make it to the altar without killing each other & then he went to stand by Gohan's side & she took her place at Bulla's. Pan caught her dad's eye & gave him a small smile. His returning smile was big & bright. He looked handsome in his tailored black tuxedo & bow tie. He cleaned up very nice, even though she knew for a fact that he hated suits.

When her mom was alive, she was always trying to get him to wear something besides a training gi & more times than not, she failed. Pan smiled sadly to herself as she remembered all the times her mother would chase her father around the house & he ran away like it was a needle in her hand & not a suit. _I would give anything to have those days back._

A single traitorous tear fell from her eye & she quickly wiped it away. She glanced up & found Trunks staring at her. Something flashed behind his eyes, but he averted his gaze before she could figure out what it was. It looked like concern for a second, but that was impossible. He hated her & she hated him. There's no way he would be worried about her.

The music changed from the bridesmaid & groomsmen processional to the Bridal March in a perfect transition as Bulma made her journey to the altar & to her future husband.

As much as Pan resented her & her dad for their whirlwind romance so soon after the death of her mother, she couldn't deny the fact that the blue-haired woman looked stunning in her white dress. From the look on her father's face, he obviously agreed.

The gorgeous dress was strapless with a sweetheart cut neckline. It had a lace bodice & the waist was accented with a satin ribbon sash, which flowed into the beautiful organza trumpet shaped skirt. She was the epitome of elegance & beauty.

When Bulma's march came to an end, the nuptials began. With each vow exchanged, Pan found it harder & harder to keep her fake smile in place. The time was fast approaching when they would seal their marriage with a kiss & her mom would be officially replaced.

Tears formed in her eyes when that moment finally came. As soon as the newlywed's lips touched, the tears spilled over & ran down her cheeks. Gohan gave her a sympathetic smile when he caught her eye. Her big brother obviously knew the pain she was feeling & she could tell that he felt it, too.

The couple proceeded to walk back down the aisle amongst the applause & cheers from their family & friends. Gohan & Bulma followed them; Pan, however, stayed where she was & watched them go through blurry eyes.

She glanced away when she couldn't take the smiles on everyone's faces anymore. Her gaze landed on Trunks, who had also stayed behind & was staring at her with a peculiar expression. Pan had seen that look on his face before.

When she was about twelve or thirteen, before Trunks had become cold towards her & when he had first became president of Capsule Corp, Pan used to visit him at work when she wasn't in school. Sometimes she'd just sit in his office & read or do homework. She would glance over at him everyone once & awhile & he would sometimes have this look on his face. When Pan asked him what was wrong, he would say that he was having a hard time deciding what to do about a certain matter regarding the company.

He wore that same expression right then. The one that Pan now knew was a look of internal struggle & deep thinking. She was confused as to why he was looking at her that way & she told him as much.

"Why the hell are you staring at me, Brief?" Pan asked angrily. She was upset that her mom was gone, that everyone forgot about her, & that everyone was so happy. She was ready to take her anger out on somebody & who better than the person she hated the most.

Trunks blinked a few times & then shook his head as if coming out of a daze. "Nothing. I-it's nothing. Just thinking. We should, uh, probably join everyone else at the reception." He hurried away quickly, not even bothering to wait for her.

 _Why would he wait for me?_ Pan thought miserably. _He's made it clear that he despises me. He was probably staring at me so hard because he was thinking of something mean to say about my crying. I'm sure he thinks I'm weak because of it. Dick._

Pan took a deep breath to calm herself & then wiped away the moisture on her cheeks with the back of her hand. When she was finished composing herself, she reluctantly walked back inside to join everyone else at the reception.

 **Author's Note:**

There's chapter one. Did ya'll like it? Hate it? Let me know in a review. Constructive criticism only by the way. There's no official update schedule for this story yet, but I will come up with one soon. Until next time!

-Chels xoxo


	2. This Kiss

**Welcome back, everyone! Here's chapter two for you. FYI: this is ALL romance, no action. I know that's not what Dragon Ball is all about, but I'm not the best at writing fight scenes, so I'm not even going to bother adding them to this story. Hopefully no one minds & you all enjoy what I write for you. Oh, & in this universe, GT never happened.**

 **If anyone is interested, the title for last chapter & story title were inspired by the Avenged Sevenfold song of the same name. Each of my chapter titles will be the name of a song. If you know who sings the song my chapters are named after, let me know & I'll reveal if you're right or wrong in the following update. Sound like a fun game? Yes? No? **

**LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hi! It's great to have you as a reader again. As always, I'll try not to disappoint. You only asked me one question this time & I can actually answer it. Haha. Trunks' reaction to Pan is not a Saiyan thing. It'll be explained later.**

 **Anie: Sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, hon. I hope the wait was worth it :) Thank you for the review btw!**

 **SERLee: Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this SLee from my last story? I'm pretty sure it is. Hello again! Thank you for being a part of this story, too. I'm glad you like this idea. I don't recall this concept ever being done in Dragon Ball fan fiction, so I'm hoping it goes well. I hope you continue to enjoy it! :)**

 **lordshuvra: Thanks for the review! If by fulfill this story you mean finish it, then don't worry because I have every intention of finishing. I don't like when other authors leave stories incomplete, so I won't do it to you guys. There's no need to Kamehameha me :)**

 **Chapter Two: This Kiss**

Pan reluctantly walked into the room designated for parties at Capsule Corp. It was elegantly decorated for the reception: gold twinkle lights hung on the walls, tea candles were set in the center of every white clothed table, & men & women, dressed in black slacks & white shirts, were walking around with trays full of hors d'oeuvres & champagne. A DJ booth was set up in the corner of the room & some dance pop song was blaring through the large speakers.

Looking toward the front of the spacious room, Pan noticed a long table reserved for the bridal party, her father & Bulma seated directly in the middle. The sight of their happy faces, as well as the faces of the party goers who were dancing & eating & drinking around her, made her stomach churn for the hundredth time that day.

She knew she was expected to join them, to celebrate with them, but her feet refused to move in the direction of her father & his new bride. Eying the empty seat reserved for her next to Bulla one last time, Pan turned away, weaving idly between tables & people. With no destination in mind, she simply observed everyone else as she passed, catching bits & pieces of their excited chit chat.

The sad Saiyan doubted anyone noticed her or if they did, she doubted they cared. All of their attention was on the happy couple & the free food & drink. No one even tried to understand what this day might mean to Pan & her brothers; that what they constituted as a happy day, a cause for celebration, was instead a dark day for them, a reminder of what they had lost only a short time ago.

Feeling tears once again prick at the corners of her eyes, Pan sneakily plucked a glass of champagne off a serving tray as a waiter passed by. She downed the fizzy liquid, hoping it would numb her pain, at least for a little while. The bubbles tickled her tongue & went to her head as the cool liquid slid down her throat. It warmed her body & she immediately sought out another one. She had just stolen her second glass when a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"I don't think your father would approve."

Spinning around, Pan came face to face with Uub, an old student of her father's. It had been years since she had seen him, the last time being at the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. She was only four or five at the time & he was ten according to her dad. Since then, he had grown a few inches & his boyish features had become more defined.

"Uub," Pan greeted, smiling politely. "It's nice to see you again."

"You, too," Uub said, smiling back. "I know it's been awhile, but if I remember correctly, you're not old enough to be drinking that." He pointed to the flute of champagne with an amused smile.

The young Saiyan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, it's either this or I start blasting until every stupid twinkle light in this place is destroyed."

Uub chuckles lightly. "I understand. Must be hard after your mom…well, you know, & now all this."

"Yeah," Pan agreed, swallowing thickly as the pain made itself known once more. She quickly tossed the alcohol down her throat & immediately started looking around for another server. "You can tell my dad if you want," she said, referring to her underage drinking, "though, he'll probably be too preoccupied with his honeymoon to care." Bitterness laced each of her words.

"I won't say a word," he promised. "It's not like you're trying to hide it anyway," Uub observed as she covertly grabbed another glass.

"It's a party," Pan stated. "Might as well loosen up." She was definitely starting to feel the effects of the bubbles & alcohol. The pain she was feeling had dulled slightly, allowing Pan to finally breathe. "You want to dance?" Pan asked Uub. He looked startled by her sudden random question for a moment, before smiling brightly & nodding.

He grabbed Pan's hand & led her to the crowded dance floor. Wasting no time, Pan closed her eyes & started swaying her body to the upbeat tune. She felt Uub's hands grab ahold of her hips &, losing herself in the music, she moved her body against his. He moved with her & she vaguely noted something hard pressing against her buttocks. Knowing exactly what it was & choosing to ignore it, Pan let the alcohol & music drown her sorrows.

Suddenly, though, she felt herself being spun around & she opened her eyes to find Uub's dark brown ones staring back at her, hooded with desire. He leaned in slowly & Pan just watched, letting him capture her lips in a kiss. It was her first kiss & it was nothing like how the books & movies described it. Where were the fireworks? The heat? There was supposed to be a spark, wasn't there? Pan didn't feel any of that, but she kissed him back anyway, figuring it must be a delayed reaction.

Their lips had only been locked for a few seconds when Uub pulled away…or rather, someone forced him to pull away. Pan's eyes popped open to see angry blue ones glaring at her, making her gasp in surprise.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing with my stepsister?" Trunks hissed, his icy gaze now on Uub.

"We were just dancing, Trunks," Uub replied, his brow furrowed in confusion. Pan was confused, too. She didn't understand what had gotten into Trunks.

"That was not dancing," the purple-haired Saiyan growled. "You had your tongue down her throat."

"He did not have his-" Pan tried to protest, but the words died in her throat with one glare from Trunks.

"Stay away from her, Uub, or else you'll have me to answer to," Trunks threatened.

Uub looked from the angry Saiyan to Pan uncertainly before ultimately listening to the threat & hurrying away. Pan's confusion quickly began to fade as she realized Trunks had just ruined her first kiss & had probably done so on purpose, gleefully & maliciously.

"You fucking asshole!" she snarled, pushing Trunks hard in the chest & earning some stares from the people dancing around them, a lot of whom Pan didn't recognize. "That was my first kiss & you fucking ruined it! Why must you make my life miserable? Why?!"

With a hard glint in his eye & firm set of his jaw, Trunks reached out & grabbed her wrist, ignoring her outburst & pulling her away from the crowd of people. Pan tried to yank her wrist free, but it was no use; Trunks was much stronger than her. Giving up, she let him drag her away, deciding she'd make a run for it once he stopped & freed her arm…only after a much deserved slap from her, that is.

Trunks continued to drag her out of the room, so forcefully she stumbled, & into the hallway, only stopping when he had locked them both in a coat closet. It was almost pitch black & the only sound was the harsh breathing of her new stepbrother, who stood so close, she could feel every exhale against her face.

Pan's heart sped up at his proximity. She wasn't sure if it was from fear or something else entirely that she wasn't willing to confront. This was the angriest she had ever seen Trunks & she was admittedly a little frightened. Sure, he had teased her & made fun of her over the years, but he had never acted like this.

"I don't want you kissing Uub again," Trunks seethed, breaking the tense silence.

"Like you have any say in the matter," Pan sneered. She was afraid that provoking him further was a bad idea, but her natural defiance wouldn't let her back down, especially when it was against her most hated enemy.

"I'm your stepbrother," he growled.

"Please," she scoffed. "Just because our parents are married, that doesn't mean you're my family & can dictate what I do. Also, you forget that I'm eighteen & I can do whatever I want."

Pan heard & felt Trunks slam his fists into the door behind her, one on each side of her head, effectively caging her in. She swallowed hard as her eyes adjusted slightly to the dark & she saw him lower his face until he was staring into her eyes, the crystal blue hues shining in the dark.

"I never forget how old you are, believe me; it's caused me many sleepless nights," Trunks said quietly, causing Pan to furrow her brow. _Why would my age bother him so much that he loses sleep?_ Before Pan could vocalize her thoughts, he spoke again. "Uub is too old for you & I want you to stay away from him."

"He's the same age as you," Pan argued.

"Exactly. That's too old."

"It's just six years," she countered.

"Too old," he repeated, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than her that that was true.

"It's not too old. Our parents are a few years apart In age & that didn't stop them from getting married. People with even bigger age gaps marry all the time. It's no big deal."

Trunks didn't reply right away. Seconds passed while he stared intensely at her, the scowl on his face reminding her so much of his father, Vegeta, that she could almost imagine it was him standing in front of her in the near darkness & not his son.

After several long moments, Trunks finally spoke. "You're right." Suddenly, he pushed Pan against the closet door, pinning her arms above her head with his left hand & molding their bodies together in a way that brought a small moan unbidden to her lips. "I've waited years for this," he whispered, pressing his lips to hers & sliding his tongue inside.

Pan wasn't sure whether to slap him & push him away or pull him closer. She found herself arching her back, pressing her breasts against his chest, her mouth moving hungrily with his. Her initial surprise from his unexpected kiss had faded, leaving behind…pleasure. Each stroke of his tongue against hers sent a wave of pleasure coursing through her body. Fireworks went off behind her closed eyelids & electricity ran rampant throughout her body. _This is what a kiss should feel like._

She melted into him as he leaned into her, one knee between her legs. Arching her back further, Pan began to rock her hips against Trunks & she felt his obvious erection, hot & unyielding, against her thigh. She struggled to pull her wrists free of his grip, wanting to touch him the way his free hand was touching her, sliding down her body, caressing her skin through the thin material of her dress, but his iron hold on her only tightened.

When his fingers met the bare skin of her thigh, she gasped into his mouth & felt his tongue delve deeper as he deepened the kiss. The long skirt of her bridesmaid dress didn't seem to pose a problem as he continued to move his hand upward, finding the black lace of her underwear. Fire coursed through her veins as he touched her, making her moan into is mouth, & like he himself had been burned, Trunks suddenly jerked back. Their passionate kiss had stopped as quickly as it had started.

"Trunks-" Pan started, but Trunks held up a hand, silencing her.

"We shouldn't have done that. It was a mistake," he panted.

"A mistake?" Pan repeated, trying to keep the hurt that pierced her heart from showing in her voice. _How could he think that was a mistake? Did he not like it?_

"Yes, a mistake. If things were different…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "But you're my sister now, Pan," he continued. "You're family & what we did was wrong. If our parents ever found out, it would destroy them."

He was right. They weren't related by blood, but they were still siblings through marriage. Her father & his mother wouldn't approve of what they had done & even though she resented them right now, she didn't want to hurt them.

"Okay. Let's just forget it ever happened then, yeah?" Pan said.

"Yeah," Trunks agreed. She thought she saw his bright eyes glance at her lips- which were probably red & swollen from their kiss-as if he wanted to kiss her again instead of forget about it, but the darkness around them prevented her from knowing for sure. Pan shook her head. The darkness was obviously playing tricks on her; there was no way Trunks wanted to kiss a girl he deemed a "mistake". "We should get back to the party."

Pan nodded & moved away from the door so he could leave. "Go ahead. I'll follow in a minute." Trunks hesitated for a moment before also nodding & exiting the closet.

When he was gone, Pan leaned against the door & slid down to the floor, fresh tears starting to fill her eyes. Her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. It was a different kind of heartache than the pain she felt when she lost her mother & it was one she had felt before years ago when Trunks first started being cruel to her.

Her fourteen-year old self had had a crush on Trunks, she even thought she loved him as more than a friend; so when he started making fun of her, started being mean to her, it broke her heart. She had lost the boy she cared so much for & it tore her apart.

Over the following years, Pan convinced herself that it was nothing, just a meaningless crush that would've passed over time. That kiss, however, brought back all those old feelings & they were stronger than before. She realized she must have buried those feelings & fooled herself into thinking it was only a schoolgirl crush to protect her heart from further pain after he became cold towards her.

Maybe that was why she hated him so much. Hate was a passionate emotion, a feeling that must have come from another passionate emotion & the hurt caused when someone throws it back in your face, betrays you & the faith you put in them.

How stupid & naïve she had been. She had feelings for Trunks Brief, apparently always had, & there was absolutely nothing she could do about it now.

 **Author's Note:**

How'd everyone like this chapter? It's short, but the next one will be longer. I had to give ya'll something. Sorry, it took me so long to update. I've had a busy month. I went to visit family in Arizona, my boyfriend & I celebrated our fifth anniversary (yay us!), & I had a tooth pulled recently (ouch, right?). I still have a lot of upcoming stuff, but I set an update schedule & I'm going to try to stick to it. I will update every Wednesday, excluding this upcoming Wednesday (March 2nd). Next chapter will be posted March 9th. Until then, leave me a lovely review if you think I deserve it & enjoy your week!

-Chels xoxo


	3. Changes

**Hey everyone! It's Wednesday, so here's the chapter I promised.**

 **Last chapter's title is a song by Faith Hill.**

 **SERLee: I knew it was you! Poor Pan, right? :( Trunks' feelings will be explained sometime in the future. He's obviously conflicted & that'll be explained more later. I'm so happy you love this story. Thanks, girl! :)**

 **LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Always with the questions. Haha. I love 'em. It's going to be hard for Trunks to keep his distance since they live in the same house now. I haven't decided if we'll see more of Uub yet. I actually have someone else in mind. You might remember him ;) Having a whole new family is going to take some getting used to, but I'm sure Pan will be able to handle the change.**

 **Guest: I love jealous Trunks, too. So hot, right? Haha. Thanks for the review! I'll try not to disappoint you. Oh, & congrats on your correct guess; it was Faith Hill :)**

 **Chapter Three: Changes**

 _ **Two months later- July**_

It had been a couple of months since the wedding & that fateful kiss & life for Pan had completely changed. The first thing to change was her residence. As soon as Bulma & her father returned home from their honeymoon two weeks after their nuptials, she was forced to move into Capsule Corp. Goten, who was living on Mount Paozu's with her & Goku, also moved in. Pan begged her father to let her live with Gohan & his wife, but Goku insisted she stay at Capsule Corp so that they could learn to be a family.

Pan had been in an even worse mood than usual the day she was forced to move out of the only home she had ever known, the home she used to share with her mother. She had thought that was the reason for her foul mood, & it partly was, but when she walked into her new home with her arms full of her belongings & came face-to-face with Trunks, she knew that he was also part of the problem.

Before that day, she hadn't seen for two weeks & that wasn't by accident. She had avoided him like the plague after the wedding. Every time Trunks would come over to visit Goten, Pan would make herself scarce; whenever Bulla would call & ask her to hang out at her place, no matter how much she begged & pleaded, Pan always refused. She had become a pro at avoiding him…until the day she moved in & it became near impossible for her to do so any longer.

She remembered that day over a month ago perfectly: as soon as she spotted Trunks coming down the stairs, she froze. Like a deer caught in the headlights, she didn't know what to do. She stared at him & he stared back for a few seconds before the corner of his mouth lifted to form that smirk that he wore so well. Seeing it reminded Pan of how he had left her alone & heartbroken in that closet, how he treated her like garbage & tossed her aside when he was done playing with her head & heart.

For the two weeks following their kiss, Pan could think of nothing else. She struggled with her newfound feelings & over analyzed every second spent in that closet trying to figure out what the hell Trunks' motive was for kissing her. Years of verbal abuse & the nonchalant way in which he left her after the kiss led Pan to believe that it was just another elaborate joke at her expense. The realization had made her angry; angry at Trunks for being so heartless & angry at herself for falling for it &, even worse, wishing he would do it again.

In the end, she buried the feelings that kiss dredged up. She knew they were still there & probably always would be- no matter how mean Trunks was to her- but she knew they were unrequited & she refused to waste time on something that would never be. As far as she was concerned, the kiss never happened. They had agreed to forget about it & judging by what Trunks had said to her when he saw her that day, he was honoring that agreement as well.

"Welcome home, sis," he greeted, continuing his descent down the stairs. "I'd help you with those boxes, but I have much better things to do."

Pan glared at him as he walked past her & headed for the kitchen. Before he entered, Pan said, "Walking away instead of helping me, huh? No shocker there. We both know you're good at walking away." She regretted the words as soon as she said them. She wanted to pretend everything was normal & that the moment they shared never happened, but instead the hurt & resentment she felt got the better of her.

Trunks paused in the doorway of the kitchen, his body visibly tensing. Pan expected him to turn around & throw some snide comment her way, but instead, after a few moments, his muscles relaxed & he continued into the kitchen.

That was the one & only time she referenced their kiss. Trunks pretended as if she never said anything at all & things between them returned to normal. They constantly bickered & traded insults just like they always had; but every once in awhile, Pan would catch Trunks staring at her with a wistful expression on his face & when her eyes met his, he would quickly look away.

Another big change for Pan was her graduation from high school the previous month. She was now officially an adult & was expected to behave like one. This meant either getting a job or going to college. Pan was never one to voluntarily sit still for hours at a time, so she chose not to continue her schooling, even though she knew it was what her mother wanted. Instead, she opted to find a job, which she learned was easier said than done. It seemed nobody wanted to hire a girl fresh out of high school. Every place she applied to wanted someone with at least a college education & a fancy degree, something she obviously didn't have. In short: she was screwed.

She had been out of school for a month & was on the verge of giving up the job hunt when her father entered her room with a huge goofy smile on his face.

"Hey, Pan," he greeted. "Got a minute?"

Pan closed the lid on her laptop & sat up. "Sure, Dad. What's up?"

Goku pointed to her computer, ignoring her question. "Still looking for a job?"

"Yup," she replied.

"Any luck?"

"Nope."

"That's good."

Pan's eyes widened. "Good?" she exclaimed. "You think it's good that I can't find a job? That I can't find something to do with my life? Seriously?"

"What? Of course not," Goku replied defensively.

"Well, that's what it sounded like," she seethed. The stress of finding a job had her constantly on edge these days & her temper was even shorter than usual.

"Pan, I meant it was good that you haven't found anything yet, because Bulma wanted me to tell you that there's a position available at Capsule Corp."

"What? Really?" Pan's anger quickly faded & was replaced with excitement & relief.

"Yeah. You start tomorrow."

"This is great!" She leapt off the bed & threw her arms around her father's neck. He hugged her back tightly; he was probably happy that she was displaying an emotion besides anger toward him. Ever since Pan found out about the engagement, she never failed to let her dad know how unhappy she was about it & everything else. Until that moment, she couldn't even remember the last time she smiled at him without it being fake as hell. Pulling back, she asked, "What's my new job going to be? I didn't go to college, so I definitely can't be a researcher like Gohan."

Goku's smile fell from his lips & he looked apprehensive as he said, "Well, Pan, you're going to be…Trunks' new personal assistant."

Just like that, Pan's excitement & relief disappeared as fast as it had come. "You're kidding, right? This is a joke…isn't it?"

"No, honey, it's not. I know you & Trunks have your differences, but-"

"We have nothing but differences!" Pan yelled. "Dad, you know the kinds of things he says to me. He's an asshole & I refuse to work for him, especially as his assistant. I can't believe Bulma would even offer me that job."

"Actually, it was Trunks' idea. He told his mom to tell me to tell you," Goku clarified while rubbing the back of his head.

Pan's teeth ground together as she spat, "Of course it was. He would just love to have me wait on him hand & foot, to boss me around all damn day. Well, he can forget it. It's not happening."

Her father sighed. "Pan, maybe you should reconsider. Job offers aren't falling into your lap & working at Capsule Corp, for the president of the company no less, will look good on your résumé. It was very generous of Trunks to give you the job. Give it some thought. I'm sure working for your step brother won't be that bad."

"He's not my brother," Pan snapped. "And being his assistant is the worst thing I can possibly think of."

Goku sighed again as he turned to leave. "It's a good opportunity, Pan," he said while he walked away. "Think about it, please."

No way. There was no way in hell she was working for that arrogant prick. She could just imagine the laundry list of degrading jobs he'd have her do: polishing his shoes with a toothbrush, picking up his dry cleaning, watering his damn plants. Personal assistant was just a fancy way of calling her an office maid. Screw that. She was going to go tell him where he could stick that job offer.

Pan stormed out of her room & marched to Trunks' which was two doors away. She raised her fist & pounded on his door until he opened it with a startled look on his face. His alarm turned to amusement when he saw it was her.

"Oh, Pan, it's you. I thought it might be someone important." He chuckled at his own joke.

"Fuck you, Brief," she shot back. "My dad just told me about your wonderful offer."

"Is that the reason for this little visit?" he asked. "Come to say thank you?"

Pan laughed humorlessly. "As if. I wanted to tell you that there's no way in hell I'm working for you. I'm not stupid enough to take a job as your slave."

"Slave?" Trunks repeated, looking genuinely confused.

"Yes, a slave. Someone forced to obey your every wish & command. I'd rather have sex for money than work for you."

"If only that was part of the job description, then you could do both." Trunks' eyes smoldered as they roamed over her body.

"Excuse me?" Pan balked. _Is he messing with me again?_

His eyes focused on hers again as he asked with a serious tone, "Pan, do you even know what a personal assistant does?"

"Yeah, they wait on overpaid douchebags."

Trunks laughed lightly as he shook his head. "Not exactly. Yes, they perform small tasks like answering phones, taking notes, & manage files, but they also help with power points, spread sheets, etc. They keep things running smoothly; they're some of the most important people at a company. I need a new one & thought you'd be perfect."

Pan couldn't detect any hint of mischief in his tone or expression. There was no sign that this was another setup. She was still skeptical, though.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Well, you're smart for one. Also, I know you're extremely organized & that's what I like in my assistants. Like I said, you're perfect…for the job I mean." He cleared his throat & looked down at his feet.

Pan narrowed her eyes at him. It had been a whole minute without a mean comment from him & she didn't know what to make of it. The last time that had happened, she ended up broken in a closet.

"You're serious?" Pan asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, sure," Trunks replied without looking up.

After a couple of minutes of standing there in complete silence, Pan finally said, "Okay, fine. I guess I'll give it a shot." With a smirk she added, "I should've known you'd have a hard time running that company on your own."

Trunks tore his eyes away from his feet & focused his gaze on her again, smiling. "Well, running a company as successful & profitable as mine isn't exactly easy, you know?"

"I know. I'm actually surprised that you haven't already ran Capsule Corp into the ground."

Trunks laughed at that causing Pan to giggle as well. She almost couldn't believe it. She was insulting him, but it was playful. It almost felt like old times.

"You should get to bed," Trunks said after he calmed down. "You have to work bright & early tomorrow."

"No can do, _boss_. I have plans."

The lavender-haired Saiyan's eyes narrowed. "Plans? What kind of plans?"

His reaction threw her off & after what happened with Uub, she was reluctant to tell him, but after a moment she caved. "I have a date."

Trunks' nostrils flared. "With who?"

"A boy I went to high school with. We've been dating for a couple of months."

"A couple of months? Why the fuck didn't I know about this?"

Pan's anger spiked at his tone. She didn't know what false impression he was under, but whatever it was, she was about to set him straight.

"I don't have to tell you every little thing that happens in my life, especially when it comes to my love life. That's none of your business." She started walking down the hall, but paused & turned back around to add, "If you wanted to be a part of my life, then maybe you should've tried harder over the years."

"Pan-" he started, but she didn't wait around to hear what he had to say. Instead, she entered her bedroom & slammed the door shut.

She really did have a date & she had to get ready. The guy's name was Paul & they had met in high school. He sat at the same table as her in her science class, so they worked together a lot on lab assignments. They constantly flirted throughout the school year, but he didn't ask her out until the year was almost over.

Their first date was the day of the rehearsal dinner for her father & Bulma's wedding. It had gone well, but he didn't ask her out again until a week later. A lot had happened since their first date & she thought he deserved to know that she had kissed another boy, Uub, at the wedding. She didn't tell him about Trunks, though, for obvious reasons. Paul had been understanding about the whole thing & they've gone on several dates since then.

Pan found him to be a great distraction from her thoughts about her mother & her feelings for Trunks. Deep down she knew she was leading him on. He probably hoped for a future with her while she knew for a fact that it would never be anything more than casual dating.

After changing her clothes & applying some light makeup, Pan grabbed her purse & jacket & walked out her bedroom door. She stopped dead in her tracks, though, when she noticed Trunks leaning against the wall outside her bedroom.

"Can I help you?" she sneered.

He pushed off the wall & stood in front of her. "I don't want you going out tonight."

"Too bad you don't have a say in what I do." She tried to walk past him to get to the stairs, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Pan," Trunks growled, startling her for a moment. "Get your ass back in your room."

Pan scoffed. "Not going to happen. I may work for you, Trunks, but that doesn't mean you can dictate what I do outside the office."

He raised his hand & Pan followed its path as he brought it to her face & tucked her long black hair behind her ear. It then settled on her cheek, his thumb rubbing back & forth on her cheekbone. She couldn't help leaning into his touch as he lowered his head toward hers.

Instead of kissing her, though, he brought his mouth to her ear & whispered, "Panny, of course I can tell you what to do at home." Pan jerked back & furrowed her brow at him. He smirked & continued. "Break things off with this guy or not only will I fire you before you even start working for me, but I'll also make sure no one in this city hires you."

Pan placed her hands on Trunks' chest & pushed him away from her. "You wouldn't," she said in disbelief.

His smirk widened. "Try me."

Tears welled in the raven-haired Saiyan's eyes as she stared at him with visible disgust. "I can't believe you. You're fucking despicable," she spat, before retreating to her room in defeat & slamming the door so hard, the house shook.

 **Author's Note:**

There's the newest chapter. Did you like it? Am I making Trunks totally unlikeable? He has his reasons, I swear. Anywho, leave a review if you're in the mood & expect a new update next Wednesday. Until then!

-Chels xoxo


	4. 9 to 5

**Hello again! Wednesday = new chapter. Enjoy!**

 **I went old school with last chapter's title. It's a Black Sabbath song; one of my favorites by them :)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Blackmail doesn't look good on Trunks, but if he can't have Pan, no one can. It isn't fair to her, but Trunks is struggling with his own feelings & he isn't handling it very well. Oh, God, that would've been funny. Haha. I don't think I'd have the heart to do that to Trunks, though. I have four brothers & growing up with them, I know how painful that could be for a man since I may or may not have done that to them once or twice. Trunks would deserve it, though. He does have his reasons for his behavior. I'm glad Paul surprised you. Vegeta might show up later if I could work him in. I miss him ;)**

 **SERLee: Total dick move. Jealous Trunks went a little too far this time. Hope this chapter keeps you satisfied for another week :)**

 **kiki700: Hey, hon! It's great to have you back! Thanks for the review! :)**

 **Guest #1: I don't think poor Paul will ever catch a break. Haha. I'm evil, but I ship Trunks & Pan, not Paul & Pan. Yup, Trunks is officially trying to control Pan. Thank you for your review, hon. I appreciate it :)**

 **Guest #2: Your story idea sounds really interesting. I'll have to do some research on Vados, but I'll try to get around to it. I can't make any promises, though. I'm having a hard time trying to get this story updated on time every week. Haha. Have you ever thought about writing? It's really fun :)**

 **Chapter Four: 9 to 5**

Hell. That's what Pan was walking into the next morning. Her eyes were red & puffy from lack of sleep & having spent half the night crying, but she had managed to look somewhat professional as she made her way to Trunks' office. With her black pencil skirt, navy blue blouse, & nude heels, she definitely looked the part- too bad she didn't feel the part. Business attire wasn't something she'd wear if she could help it; unfortunately, Capsule Corp had a strict dress code that everyone had to adhere to.

Since Pan used to visit Trunks all the time at work, she knew exactly where to go. She entered the small waiting area where she would be working & looked around. It hadn't changed since the last time she had been there, except now she would be the one behind the desk in the corner. Opposite the desk, in the adjacent corner, was the familiar fake fern, which was the only decoration in the room. Pan didn't even have a window to look out of. It was just as well, she figured; she'd probably want to jump out of it after two minutes working with Trunks Brief.

Then, as if summoned by her thoughts, the man himself strolled in, his face splitting into a huge grin when he saw Pan standing by her new desk. He was wearing a fitted charcoal suit & Pan tried desperately not to stare at the bulging muscles straining against the expensive fabric.

"Good morning, little sister," he greeted. "Excited for your first day?"

"Ecstatic," she replied sarcastically.

"Wonderful," Trunks said, either not picking up on her sarcasm or choosing to ignore it; it was most likely the latter. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to having you work here. I'm glad you accepted the job."

"You didn't give me much of a choice, Brief," Pan grumbled.

" _Mr._ Brief, Pan," he corrected. "I can't have you speaking so informally to me."

"You're kidding me, right?" she asked.

"Not at all," he replied. "If I bend the rules for you, I'll have to bend them for everyone & that's out of the question. This is a business, little sister, & as president, I should be shown some respect."

"If that's how you want it, then fine, but no more of this 'little sister' crap while we're at work. Respect me & I'll respect you, _Mr. Brief._ "

Trunks stared at her with a contemplative expression before smirking once again. "As you wish… _Miss Son._ "

Pan rolled her eyes as she dropped her purse to the floor next to her desk & sat down. She assumed Trunks would go into his office, but he continued to stand in the doorway, watching her. She grew increasingly uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny as the seconds ticked by. Not being able to handle the awkward silence anymore, Pan cleared her throat & spoke up.

"So, _Mr. Brief_ ," Pan started, "what happened to your last assistant? They get tired of your bullshit?"

To her surprise, Trunks actually looked uncomfortable with her question. "No, not exactly. She, uh, was too distracted by other non-office related subjects, so I had to let her go."

"What was she so distracted by?" Pan asked, her previous annoyance leaving her & being replaced with genuine interest.

Trunks continued to look like this was the last topic he wanted to be talking about, but to her delight, he satisfied her curiosity.

"Me," he mumbled; & just like that, Pan's annoyance returned…along with jealousy. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ she thought _. We aren't together. I have no right to feel this way. Get your shit together, Son!_ "We went out on a couple of dates, but I wasn't really feeling it. I told her as much, but it was like she was in denial; she refused to believe it. She became needy & clingy & it affected her work, so I fired her."

"Well, I guess that's what you get for dipping your pen in the company ink," Pan gritted out.

Trunks' unease suddenly faded & a cocky smirk took its place. "Is that jealousy I detect, Miss Son?"

Pan scoffed. "You wish," she told him. Although she couldn't deny that the news of Trunks dating his old assistant had upset her, she'd be damned if she'd admit that to him. After the kiss they shared, the one she was positive was another one of his jokes, Pan wouldn't have been surprised if he had gone around town telling everyone that his stepsister was in love with him. If that were the case, the last thing she wanted to do was give him more fodder to use to embarrass her. "I just think it's deplorable that you would fraternize with your employees. Isn't there a rule against that here?"

His grin grew. "Rules were meant to be broken," Trunks answered.

"Except for the ones between step siblings, right?" asked Pan. "Because if I remember correctly, & I do, you follow those to the letter."

Trunks features hardened, his eyes becoming a cold, icy blue. His whole body tensed & his fists clenched as he glared at her. Pan glared back, refusing to back down & show weakness. He walked over to the front of her desk; he placed his palms on top of it & leaned down until he was at eye level with her.

"I don't know what it is you're referring to, what is you 'remember'," he whispered harshly, "but it's probably best that you forget it. I don't remember anything, so it must not have happened."

He remembered, she knew he did. He was still pretending like it hadn't happened, something Pan should've been doing, too. She couldn't help saying what she did, though. His nonchalance about everything infuriated her & she just wanted to get some kind of reaction out of him. She was trying desperately to forget that day two months ago, but whenever she saw Trunks, she was suddenly reminded of every detail & the hurt & bitterness she would feel at the memory made her lash out.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Brief," Pan sneered.

"Exactly, & don't you forget it," he said, his features still made of stone. "My company, my rules. I can break them if I want or abolish them altogether."

Pan rolled her eyes. "God, it's only been a few minutes & I already want to quit. How do you do it, Trunks? Seriously, you have a gift for annoying people."

His smirk returned. "I seem to only have that effect on you. Most people find me delightful."

"Lucky me then," she told him sarcastically. "May I get to work now? My boss is kind of an asshole & I would hate to upset him on my first day."

Trunks chuckled lightly as he straightened. "Of course, Miss Son. Get your work station set up & then I'll have that _wonderful_ boss of yours e-mail you your office duties  & this week's agenda."

He then walked into his office & shut the door behind him without waiting for her reply. Pan rolled her eyes again & turned on the computer sitting on her desk. Bulma had given her a piece of paper before she left that morning with her new Capsule Corp e-mail address & password on it, so she logged into it & waited for Trunks' e-mail.

Fifteen minutes later, she received it. She was reading her office duties & drinking a much needed cup of coffee when she noticed a few unusual jobs listed.

 _The Expected Duties of President Brief's Personal Assistant:_

 _Meet & greet all visitors. _

_Screen all phone calls, inquiries, & requests & handle them if able & deal with incoming e-mails, faxes, & mail. _

_Schedule meetings & appointments. _

_Organize & attend all meetings & ensure the president is well prepared & provide general assistance during presentations. _

_Strip on command._

 _Take notes or dictation during meetings._

 _Devise & maintain office files._

 _Do the president's laundry/dry cleaning._

 _Arrange travel plans & accommodations. _

_Do research when needed & present findings for meetings. _

_Must prepare a gourmet lunch for the president every day._

 _Cooperate with clients & other staff. _

_Must wear French maid outfit every Friday. Naughty nurse is also acceptable._

 _Produce documents, reports, & presentations. _

_And most importantly…get stick out of ass & smile a little. _

Pan almost choked on her coffee as she read the list. When she was done reading it, she rose from her chair & walked to the door of Trunks' office as calmly as she could. Her face felt hotter than the coffee she had been drinking as rage coursed through her. Without knocking, she stormed into the office. She found Trunks sitting behind his desk with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Miss Son," he greeted. "Can I help you with something?"

"You sure as hell can," Pan seethed. "What the fuck was up with that e-mail?" She pointed through the wall in the direction of her computer.

"It was pretty self-explanatory," he replied. "If you can't understand a simple list, Miss Son, then we might have a problem."

"Oh, I understand it just fine. What I don't understand is why you would include some of the things you did."

"Like what?" he asked, obviously feigning innocence.

"You know exactly what," Pan snapped.

Trunks signed dramatically. "I'm sorry, Miss Son. That wasn't very nice of me, was it? I shouldn't have added those extra duties… I can answer my own phone calls & schedule my meetings, you just worry about the rest."

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" Pan roared. "That is not what I was talking about & you know it! You know that counts as sexual harassment, right?! I could go to the cops if I wanted to! I will not strip on command or make you lunch or-or…" She trailed off when she noticed Trunks' body shaking with silent laughter. "Are you seriously laughing at me?"

His silent laughter turned into a huge guffaw & he struggled to get his words out. "Of…course I am. Your reaction…was…priceless!" After a minute of uproarious laughter while Pan glared at him with her small fists clenched in anger, he finally settled down. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he shook his head & grinned at her. "I can't believe you thought I was serious."

"I wouldn't put anything past you, Brief. I should call the cops anyway," she told him.

" _Mr._ Brief, Miss Son," he corrected her, "& there's no need for that. It was just a bit of fun. Kind of like hazing or an initiation to officially welcome you to Capsule Corp."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she said. "If you wanted to welcome me to the office, a fucking fruit basket would've worked just fine."

Trunks chuckled again. "Noted. Now if you don't mind I have some work to do, so please leave my office." Pan glared at him for a few more seconds before turning to leave. "Oh, & please knock next time before you enter. Thank you."

Pan gritted her teeth, but didn't say anything. She walked out of his office, shutting the door harder than necessary as she went. When she arrived back at her desk, she fell into her chair & covered her face with her hands.

"The weekend cannot get here fast enough," she muttered to herself.

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys, I hope you liked this week's chapter. I had more planned for it, but my 6-year old cousin passed away a few days ago & it has hit us all pretty hard. The funeral is this Saturday & I'm hoping it doesn't affect next week's update, but if it does, I'm sorry. Enjoy the rest of your week & hopefully you'll hear from me again next Wednesday.

-Chels xoxo


	5. I Will Not Bow

**Hi guys! A new chapter as promised. I tried to get this out the Wednesday before last, but as you know, I've been preoccupied. My cousin's funeral was the Saturday before last & I spent the week prior & the one following it with my family, so I had very little time to write & edit. Things are slowly getting better & all future chapters should be updated on time. I'd like to also apologize to those of you who fell for my little April Fool's prank. I couldn't resist. I'm happy I was able to trick some of you, though. None of my family or friends fell for any of my other pranks. Haha. I would never end this story prematurely so don't worry **_**LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta**_ **,** _ **SERLee**_ **, & **_**my awesome guest reviewer**_ **:)**

 **9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. Now, I think I've kept you waiting long enough, so without further ado…**

 **LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I really like some of the ideas you have. I may or may not steal them ;) Thank you so much for your condolences.**

 **SERLee: I'm glad you liked Trunks' e-mail. It was hard thinking of funny stuff to put in it, so I'm happy you found it amusing. Thanks for your condolences, hon. I really appreciate it :)**

 **Guest: I can totally see Pan throwing a fruit basket at Trunks, too. Haha. She might get one this chapter, but I don't think she'll harm him with it if she does. Thank you for your condolences by the way :)**

 **Chapter Five: I Will Not Bow**

 _Thank, God, it's finally Friday_ , Pan thought to herself for the millionth time that day as she ate her lunch at her desk. The week had been long & stressful & she was ready for the weekend to start so she could relax & recuperate before it all started again on Monday.

To her surprise, Trunks turned out to be a decent boss. After his antics her first morning, Pan was convinced that his childish behavior wouldn't change; but it had. He was completely professional the rest of the week & he actually treated her with respect. He said please when he needed her to do something & followed it up with a thank you when she had completed her assigned task. The Trunks she knew outside the office would never had treated her in such a way. He took his work seriously & Pan was grateful that it kept him busy & left little time for him to come up with new ways to mess with her.

In fact, neither of them had much time to themselves during the week. Being the personal assistant to one of the most powerful men in the city was a lot harder than Pan had anticipated. People were constantly visiting & calling Trunks, which was enough to give her a headache all on its own. On top of that, though, & the other small jobs she had to do, she also had to help Trunks prepare for the meetings he seemed to always have, as well as accompany him to them. Suffice it to say, Pan was exhausted & looking forward to two days of doing absolutely nothing.

She was just finishing up her lunch when her phone chimed with a text. Digging it out of her bag, she looked at the screen & was surprised to see that it was from… Paul.

Paul: Hey Pan. U busy?

She didn't know whether to text him back or not. The last time she had spoken to him was when she canceled their date a few days ago. Pan hadn't offered him much of an explanation; she simply said she couldn't make it. She knew he would text her again eventually, but she still didn't know what to say to him, how to end things between them.

Paul was a sweet guy & she always felt less alone when she was with him. She wasn't exactly happy & in love, but it was better than being lonely. How could she give that up? Sure, it wasn't fair to string him along the way she was, but she needed him. It just wasn't in the way she assumed Paul wanted. Ignoring the threat Trunks made against her, she text him back.

Pan: Paul, hi. No, I'm not busy. Just at work on my lunch break.

Paul: U got a job? That's great! I'd luv 2 take u out 2nite 2 celebrate.

A date? With Paul? Trunks would hate that. He might fire her. Then she'd be out of a job & if he was true to his word, he'd make sure no one else in the city hired her. Pan glared at the door she knew he was locked behind & raised her chin slightly in defiance. Who was he to tell her what to do? To threaten her? She shouldn't have ever let him control her life & she wasn't going to bend to his will anymore. Let him fire her if he wanted. It'd be worth it just to spite him. In fact, she had her own leverage now against him if he threatened her again.

Pan: That sounds great. What time?

Paul: 8p a good time 4 u?

Pan: Eight is perfect.

Paul: Did u want 2 meet at our usual spot?

Normally, Pan would meet Paul at a small park a few blocks away from Capsule Corp, so she could keep their relationship a secret. She didn't see the point of hiding anymore, though, since Trunks now knew about Paul & she wasn't afraid of getting fired anymore.

Pan: Actually, can you pick me up at my place?

Paul: Sure. Capsule Corp, right?

Pan: Right. Thanks.

Paul: No prob. Can't wai ;)

Pan: Likewise :)

A small smile formed on Pan's face as she put her phone away. It looked like her weekend was already off to a good start. Dinner with a nice boy would be a great distraction from her complicated & confusing life. More importantly, she wouldn't be cooped up in her room all night with her boss/stepbrother right down the hall.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was nearly five o'clock, quitting time, when approaching footsteps caught Pan's attention. She looked up from her computer to see a delivery man enter the room.

"Hello," she greeted him. "How may I help you?"

"I have a delivery here for a Pan Son," he informed her.

Pan's brow furrowed. "That's me, but I'm not expecting…" She trailed off as she noticed what he was carrying: a basket full of fruit. Her hands clenched into fists as she continued to stare at it. Her teeth gritted together, she forced out, "Is that from Trunks Brief?"

"I don't know ma'am," the man replied. "I just do the deliveries. I can't tell you who placed the order."

 _It was Trunks. It had to be._ "Well, thank you," she said, reaching out to take the basket from him. "Go ahead & leave yourself a large tip on whatever credit card this was charged to."

"Thank you, ma'am," he told her with a smile before leaving.

Cradling the colorful basket of apples, bananas, pears, & other various fruits, Pan marched toward Trunks' office & knocked none too gently on his door. A muffled _"come in"_ came from inside the room. Without hesitation, she opened the door  & stalked toward Trunks' desk, dropping the basket in front of him.

He didn't bat an eye as he looked from the basket to Pan, who was still fuming. "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Son?"

"Yeah, you can explain what _this_ is," the raven-haired Saiyan snapped, pointing at the fruit.

Trunks looked back at the basket again & raised an eyebrow. "It's fruit obviously."

Pan rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I know that. I want to know why you had it sent to me."

"Because you told me to," he answered simply.

"I did not!" she argued.

"Yes, you did. You told me to send you a fruit basket to welcome you to the office. Since I already welcomed you, this is to congratulate you on finishing your first week here."

"I wasn't serious," she told him.

"Would you have preferred another e-mail then?" he asked, a smirk beginning to form on his previously blank face.

"You know I wouldn't have," Pan spat. "That was extremely inappropriate. I don't want your little 'gifts' & I sure as hell don't want anymore of your sexual harassment."

Trunks' smirk fell from his face as he rose from his chair. He now towered over Pan, pinning her in place with his intense, blue eyes.

"My 'little gift' is just that: a gift. You did a great job this week, Pan, & the fruit basket was to thank you. I don't understand you; you're mad when I don't give you a fruit basket & you're mad when I do."

"You're serious?" Pan eyed him skeptically. "You're not messing with me?"

"Not at all. Just accept the damn fruit & say thank you, Miss Son."

She stared at him for a few more moments before breaking eye contact with a sigh. "Okay. Thanks then, I guess."

His smirk returned. "No thanks necessary. You earned it."

"Still, thank you. I've never been given fruit before," Pan said with a small laugh.

"I was just taking your advice. Less e-mails, more fruit." Pan laughed harder & Trunks joined in.

"Not exactly what I was getting at, but I guess it works," she said between giggles. When she calmed down, she asked, "Since you're in a giving mood, do you think you could let me off a few minutes early? I have plans at eight & I'd really appreciate the extra time to shower."

"Plans? With who?" Trunks asked suspiciously, his previous amusement disappearing & his eyes narrowing.

Pan didn't hesitate as she said, "With Paul."

"Paul? Is that the same kid you were going to see the other night?" he growled.

"Sure is," she replied cheerfully, happy that she was making him angry.

"I thought I told you not to see him anymore."

"You did, but then I thought about it some more & I decided not to listen to you."

"If you want to remain employed here, you _will_ listen to me  & break up with this boy," the demi-Saiyan threatened.

"I don't think so, Mr. Brief," Pan told him.

"I'll fire you, Pan, & I'll make sure that no else hires-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she cut him off. "I know. The thing is, though, you can't threaten me with that anymore."

"What are you talking about? Of course I can. I'm your boss," he retorted.

Time to put him in his place. "You could have fired me…if you hadn't sent me that inappropriate e-mail," she clarified.

"What does that e-mail have to do with anything?"

"Well, obviously I can't go to the cops with it, since that type of sexual harassment isn't exactly a crime, but I can go to your mother. As I understand it, she still owns a large part of the company & I don't think she'll be very happy to know her son sends crass e-mails to his female employees. She might force you to step down as president." Pan grinned as Trunks' face flushed red with anger. Her threat was obviously working.

"You wouldn't," he hissed.

"Try me," she shot back.

The two Saiyans glared at each other for a few seconds before Trunks smirked, catching Pan off guard. She had just threatened him & he was _smiling_?

"Fine," he said. "You can leave early. I hope you have a good time on your date."

"You do?" asked Pan, surprised & suspicious.

He nodded. "Of course. It was wrong of me to threaten you like that. Go out, have fun. I won't try to stop you."

 _He's up to something_ , Pan thought. _He would never cave this easily, even with my threat, & he definitely wouldn't be so happy about it. _She eyed him as she tried to figure out what he was up to; but he just stared right back, not giving anything away. Pan had no choice but to wait until he did whatever he had planned, because he obviously had something up his sleeve. She knew him too well to think otherwise.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was almost eight o'clock, almost time for her date, & Trunks still hadn't done anything. Pan was becoming increasingly paranoid as she paced back & forth in front of the main entrance, dressed in a red summer dress. She was starting to doubt he had any plans when the doorbell rang.

Straightening her dress, Pan approached the door & pulled it open to find Paul standing on the porch. His green eyes lit up when he saw her. She smiled at him as she took in his messy dark brown hair, the tight black t-shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders & chest, & finally his dark blue jeans. He looked as handsome as ever & not for the first time, Pan wondered why she couldn't love him the way she did a certain someone. He was everything a girl could ever want in a man: handsome, smart, charming, kind. That special spark eluded her, though; the one she felt when Trunks had kissed her in that closet.

Shaking her head to clear away the thoughts of Trunks & the kiss, Pan embraced Paul before pulling away & saying, "Hey, big guy. Miss me?"

"Always," he replied, smiling. "So, are you going to invite me in?"

"Definitely not," answered Pan.

"You don't want me to meet your family or anything?" Paul asked. "I figured you did since you've never let me come over before."

"Trust me, they're lovely. You don't have to meet-"

"Do we have company?" a voice said from behind Pan…a voice that belonged to the very last person she wanted to see at that moment, or any moment for that matter. Turning slowly, she found herself face-to-face with the devil incarnate- Trunks. He smirked down at her. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to our guest?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Pan grumbled. "We were just on our way out."

"Don't be ridiculous, Panny, it'd be rude of you not to introduce us," Trunks said, amusement clear in his voice.

"It'd be rude of _you_ to keep us from our date," she snapped.

"We're not in a rush," Paul spoke up. "It's fine, Pan. I'm Paul. You're the Capsule Corp guy, right? It's nice to meet you." He reached out to shake Trunks' hand.

"Yup, I'm Trunks Brief, Pan's new stepbrother & new boss. Nice to meet you, too," Trunks said with a smile, though Pan guessed it was forced judging by the slight annoyance she detected in his tone. She knew she was right when Trunks took Paul's hand to shake. From the wince of pain on the latter boy's face, Pan could tell that Trunks was squeezing harder than necessary.

"That's quite a grip you got there," Paul commented as he retracted his hand & rubbed it.

"I work out," Trunks said with a cocky grin.

"Cool," the other boy stated.

"Paul works out, too, you know," Pan chimed in. "You don't get muscles like his by doing nothing. Isn't that right, Paul?"

The brown-haired boy smiled shyly; for such a gorgeous man, he was oddly modest & not as cocky as you would think a man like him would be. "A bit. I used to be the captain of our high school's soccer team."

"Is that so?" Gone was the cocky smirk that adorned Trunks' face, replaced by a scowl. His eyes narrowed into slits as he eyed Paul. Pan could've sworn that he was jealous of him. _Could that be why Trunks doesn't want me going out with him? I'll have to ask him about that later._ Without taking his eyes off of Paul, Trunks spoke to Pan. "It looks like you found the perfect guy, Panny."

 _He's not that perfect; he's not you._ Pan shook her head, trying to clear that thought away. Trunks was not perfect. He was arrogant, cocky, cruel, & just an overall asshole. If he had Paul's personality, then he would've been perfect. The way Paul treated her was like how Trunks used to be when she was younger. He had been perfect then, but somehow he had lost that part of himself & he wasn't so perfect anymore. _But then why do I still want him?_

Pan cleared her throat before speaking again. "Yeah, guess I did." She glanced between the two boys on either side of her. "Well, we better get going."

She stepped out into the warm night & was about to shut the door behind her, when Trunks stopped it with his large hand.

"I was just on my way out," he told her. "I have a date, too."

"You have a date?" Pan repeated, shocked.

For the first time, she noticed that he was indeed dressed much nicer than what he usually wore around the house. When he was home, he usually wore jeans & a t-shirt; but not tonight. He was wearing a long sleeve black button down shirt & dark gray dress pants. Pan tried not to stare at the visible muscles straining against his shirt, forcing herself to avert her gaze.

"Yes, I have a date," Trunks said. "I'm on my way to pick her up right now."

Jealousy flared inside Pan as she thought of Trunks going on a date with some other woman. She wondered if that's what he felt like when he found out about Paul. If so, then she somewhat understood why he wanted her to stay away from him; this feeling that was coursing through her was uncomfortable & uncontrollable. It was strong, too strong. It felt like several different emotions were hitting her all at once; anger, sadness, longing.

"That's great," Pan barely managed to get out; she was so overcome with envy that her mouth was having a hard time forming words. Paul saved her the trouble of speaking again by grabbing her hand & pulling her towards his waiting car. Unfortunately, Trunks followed, on his way to his own vehicle, which he had left decapsulized.

"So," he started, "where are you taking my little sister?"

" _Step_ -sister," she corrected him, but he ignored her.

"There's this new restaurant downtown called The Little Corner Café," Paul answered. "It's nothing fancy, but the food is great."

"Hmm… I'll have to try it sometime," Trunks said.

"Paul?" Pan started. "Can we hurry up, please? I'm starving; but if you'd rather continue talking to Trunks, then maybe you could take him out instead." She was half joking & half irritated. A hungry Son, was an angry Son.

Paul smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Pan."

"Good luck with this one, Paul; she's a handful." Trunks chuckled, winking at Pan. She glared at him before grabbing her date's arm & dragging him toward his car, Trunks still laughing behind them.

Ten minutes later, the two teenagers arrived at their destination. The waitress told them to seat themselves & they picked a corner booth in the back of the restaurant. It being a Friday night, the place was pretty busy, so it was a few minutes before the waitress finally made it to their table & took their order. Pan ordered her favorite, a steak & cheese crepe, & Paul chose to get a bacon cheeseburger.

"So," Paul started after the waitress left to put their order in, "everything okay?"

The question confused Pan. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you cancelled on me last week with no explanation. I was worried about you," he explained.

Guilt washed over her. "I'm sorry, Paul. I had to work early the next day, so I thought it would be a bad idea to go out." Lie. That was a big, fat lie.

"Oh." He laughed lightly. "Why didn't you just tell me that?" She shrugged pathetically, not knowing what to say. He laughed again. "It's cool. We're out now, right?"

"Right," Pan replied, smiling back.

"So, your brother mentioned that you work for him, at Capsule Corp. How is it working at the largest company in the city?"

"It's not bad. There's always something that needs to be done, so it's really stressful, but it could be worse."

"You're lucky," the boy sitting across from her said. "I'd kill for a job like that."

"Paul, you don't have to worry about a job for at least four more years. All you have to worry about right now is college. What school did you choose by the way? I know you must've gotten your acceptance letters by now."

Paul suddenly looked uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat & cleared his throat. "I did & I wanted to tell you sooner where I've chosen to go, but I didn't know how to tell-"

"Trunks," Pan interrupted.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would I tell Trunks where I'm going to school? I just met the guy."

She shook her head & pointed toward the front entrance of the restaurant. "No, that's not what I meant. Trunks; he's here."

Turning in his seat, Paul looked to where she was pointing. Trunks was standing near the front, scanning the restaurant. Whether he was looking for them or a place to sit, Pan didn't know. Paul turned back to Pan & said, "He did say he wanted to try this place sometime, but I didn't know he meant tonight. Do you think him & his date would want to join us?"

Before Pan could stop him, Paul raised his arm & called out to the purple-haired Saiyan. Trunks turned his head & as soon as his eyes landed on them, a large mischievous grin broke out on his face. He started walking their way & Pan finally noticed the woman he was pulling along after him. When they were only a few feet away, she realized that his date looked extremely familiar. She gasped out loud when the girl looked up, giving Pan a better view of her face. It was a face she knew as well as her own.

"Marron."

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry this chapter is so late. I was going to post it last night, but I thought it was too short, so I added a bit more. Hope it was worth the two week wait. Let me know what you think. I always appreciate everyone's comments & feedback. I'm also open to any ideas you guys might have by the way. Anywho...see ya'll next week!

-Chels xoxo


	6. Dirty Little Secrets

**Happy Wednesday, everyone! I wanted to apologize really quick to those of you who wanted to review chapter five, but couldn't. The reason for that would be because you reviewed my prank chapter, which I deleted & replaced with chapter five. Sorry again if that inconvenienced anyone. **

**I Will Not Bow is by Breaking Benjamin.**

 **LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I'm so, so sorry you couldn't leave a review. Thank you for the PM, though. I appreciate that you still let me know what you thought of last chapter. Marron is obviously going to think it's a legit date, which is unfair to her. She has no idea that Trunks has ulterior motives. Pan won't be mad at her for Trunks' actions, though. Thanks again for the review/PM. I love your ideas, so keep 'em coming :)**

 **GVLuver: I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review, hon!**

 **lordshuvra: I'm all about happy endings, so you have nothing to worry about. I was thinking about doing some chapters in Trunks' POV, but not yet. If I did, it would reveal too much, too soon. I want you to think he's an ass for now. Believe me, though, not everything is as it appears ;)**

 **NR: Thank you for your condolences, hon. He was too young. My family is doing better, but the loss is still with us. Thank you also for telling me about your issue with ampersands. I didn't realize it messed up the flow of my story for some people. I'll definitely take your advice & exclude them from the chapters. Forgive me if I forget sometimes, though. I type my chapters on my phone & I'm so used to using them when I text. Lol. Still, I'm happy you like my story, despite all the "&" symbols :)**

 **Chapter Six: Dirty Little Secrets**

"Hey, little sister," Trunks said as he neared their booth. "What're the odds we'd run into you here?"

"Really good, considering Paul told you we were going to be here not even an hour ago," Pan gritted out.

"Huh." He feigned confusion. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Yeah," she grumbled, "must have."

She couldn't believe the turn her fun night out had taken. It was supposed to be a reprieve from the feelings that constantly plagued her. That was why she started going out with Paul in the first place, because he numbed everything for awhile. Now, Trunks, one of the main reasons for her suffering. was tainting that. Not to mention he was here with one of her best friends.

Marron was a little overdressed but still beautiful in a black mini dress. Pan felt a pang of jealousy as she stared at her friend and her stepbrother. She always envied the blonde's effortless beauty and it was only made worse by the fact that she had managed to snag the only boy Pan had ever truly wanted. She couldn't hold it against her, though. A girl would be crazy to turn down a successful, handsome man like Trunks, no matter how big of an asshole he was.

Marron let out a high-pitched squeal; unlike Trunks, she was genuinely surprised to see them there.

"I can't believe you guys are eating here, too! We should totally sit together. It'd be like a double date." She beamed at Pan. "Is that okay with you, Panny?"

Pan couldn't think of anything worse than having a double dinner date with her stepbrother/boss, who she was secretly in love with, one of her best friends, who she was insanely envious of, and a boy she was for all intents & purposes using to forget said stepbrother. It was like a bad soap opera that Pan wanted no part of. Before she could politely say no, though, Paul answered for her.

"Of course that's okay, Mar." Paul looked to Pan. "Right, Panny?"

Not wanting to seem like the bad guy, the raven-haired girl forced a smile & reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, the more the merrier."

"Excellent," Trunks said. He slid in beside Pan, while Marron took the seat next to Paul. The blue-eyed Saiyan smiled widely at the girl beside him. "Isn't this cozy?"

"Extremely," Pan said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Have you guys ordered already?" Marron asked innocently, not noticing the turmoil brewing in her friend.

"A few minutes ago," Paul answered. "This place is packed, though, so it might be awhile before we get it. The waitress might not be able to take your order for awhile, either."

"We'll see about that." Trunks smiled smugly and strutted confidently to a blonde waitress who was cleaning a booth a few tables down. She straightened when she saw him approaching her and grinned seductively at him. He gave her his most charming smile and then leaned forward to whisper something in her ear before slipping a couple of bills discreetly into her hand. Pan saw her say something back and then she followed Trunks back to their table. He smirked at them all as he sat back down. "Cecilia here has suddenly become available to take our order." He winked at the waitress.

"Cecilia" blushed as she took out her note pad to write down their order. "What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a Cesar salad, please," Marron told her.

"What did you get, Panny?" Trunks asked.

Pan sighed in annoyance. He seemed to be going out of his way to irritate her more than usual. "A crepe," she snapped.

"What kind of crepe?" His eyes twinkled playfully as he stared at her, waiting for her answer.

"Steak & cheese."

"Sounds good." He turned back to Cecilia. "I'll have that."

"Any drinks?" she asked.

"Just water," said Marron.

"Iced tea for me, please," Trunks stated.

"Okay. I'll put your order in right away," Cecilia told him with a coy smile. He winked at her again before she walked away. Marron seemed oblivious to his blatant flirting with the waitress. Pan on the other hand glared at him in disgust. Trunks just smiled back at her.

"So," Paul started, clearly trying to make small talk, "how long have you and Marron been a thing?"

"Not long," Trunks replied vaguely.

"It's our first date," added Marron. She smiled adoringly at Trunks. "He called me out of the blue a few hours ago and asked me out."

"Wow. I assumed you two had been together longer. You look so natural together." Paul shook his head in wonder.

"Really?" Marron squealed excitedly.

Jealousy reared its ugly head again at Paul's words. She wished with all her heart that she was in Marron's place, that she was the one out on a date with Trunks, that people would comment on _their_ natural chemistry. That would never happen, though, for so many reasons, the most obvious being they were step siblings.

Sadness overwhelmed Pan again as she realized not for the first time that Trunks was right. Even if he felt the same way as her, there was no chance they could be together. Their parents wouldn't approve and neither would society. They would be looked down upon and considered freaks for their taboo relationship.

It was probably for the best that her feelings for Trunks were unrequited. If he was in love with her, too, it would've destroyed her to know she could never have him. It was also for the best that he treated her the way he did. If he was still the boy she first fell in love with, it would've made it harder to resist him. Things were complicated enough as they were.

Pan was still lost in thought when she felt something creeping up her leg. She reached down quickly to swat away whatever was crawling on her, but instead of her hand connecting with a bug, it met something warm. Looking down, she noticed it was a hand. She followed the length of the arm connected to it and found its owner- Trunks.

She narrowed her eyes at him and forcibly removed his hand from her exposed knee. He was staring at Marron and Paul, who were talking about some inane topic, but from the mischievous smirk pulling at his lips, it was clear he knew she was glaring at him. Pan moved her gaze from him to her date and friend and was trying to focus on their conversation when she felt his hand on her leg again, higher up this time.

She was about to say something to him when he suddenly cut into Marron & Paul's conversation, drawing their attention to their side of the table.

"So, how do you know Marron, Paul?" Trunks asked. "It's obvious this isn't your first time meeting."

"We went to school together," Paul informed him. "Pan, Marron, & me had a lot of the same classes all through high school."

"Interesting," Trunks commented. Pan tried to discreetly slide his hand off of her upper thigh again, but it tightened around her like a vice, making it impossible to remove without drawing attention to herself. "You've known my little sister for awhile then, huh?"

"Stepsister," she growled. Trunks squeezed her leg harder in response, forcing a small squeak to escape from between Pan's lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth and her cheeks flushed red as everyone at the table, except for Trunks, looked at her peculiarly. Lowering her hand, she said embarrassingly, "Sorry. I, uh...sneezed."

"That was some sneeze," Trunks chuckled. "Anyway, Paul, you've known Pan for how long?"

"For a few years, but we didn't really know each other that well until a few months ago." Paul smiled at her and she smiled back…or at least she tried to. Trunks' hand had almost reached her panty line, causing Pan's heart rate to speed up. _What the hell is his end game?_ she wondered. _Is he just trying to get me to react so I embarrass myself? Well, it ain't gonna happen, buddy…not again anyway._

"How sweet," Trunks forced out, his jaw clenched. After a couple of seconds it relaxed and his mischievous smile returned. "You must know a lot about her now then. Did she tell you how she used to wet the bed?"

Pan's eyes widened & she momentarily forgot about his hand creeping up her thigh. "I did not, Trunks! Paul, he's lying."

Paul gave her a half smile as he glanced between the two Saiyans, as if not sure who to believe.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Panny," Trunks continued. "It happens to a lot of kids. Sure, you wet the bed until you were thirteen, but that's probably normal."

"Stop!"

The young Saiyan was fuming and on the verge of blasting Trunks straight out of the restaurant, but he was saved by the waitress, who had arrived to disperse their food. Thankfully, the top of the table hid what was going on underneath Pan's dress from her. Finally, when everyone was focused on their meal and not on her, Pan yanked Trunks' hand off of her body and pulled her dress down as far as it would go.

Leaving her leg alone and focusing on his food instead, Trunks continued where he had left off. "Anyway, enough about Pan's bed wetting-"

"Trunks, I swear to-"

"-tell me more about you, Paul. You have a job? Or are you going to continue your schooling?"

Paul swallowed the bite of burger he was chewing and said, "I'm going to college in the fall."

"Great, great," Trunks muttered while cutting into his crepe. "Will you be going to school in West City or somewhere far, _far_ away?"

From the way he said the last part, Pan was certain he hoped it was the latter. She, of course, hoped it wasn't, but the look Paul now had on his face was starting to make her worry. He looked uncomfortable and nervous, just as he had when she had brought it up earlier.

"I haven't decided yet," he mumbled, his gaze focused on his plate.

Marron surprised Pan then by speaking up. "What're you talking about, Paul? You told me you were going to NYU."

"NYU?" Pan, who had her fork half raised to her mouth, dropped it in shock. The clatter drew the eyes of nearby patrons, but Pan was too surprised by what she had just heard to care. "That's in New York City."

The brown-haired boy across from her looked up sheepishly from his plate. "I was going to tell you soon, I swear I was. I wanted to tell you sooner, but…" He trailed off.

"But you decided to tell Marron first?" Pan asked, anger coursing through her. Paul merely shrugged, infuriating her further.

"I'm sorry," the blonde girl whispered. "I thought you knew, Pan." The other girl just shook her head, her dark eyes still on Paul.

The reason for her anger was purely selfish. She was angry that he was leaving her; not because she loved him, but because once he was gone, she'd have nothing to distract her from the pain and heartache she felt on a daily basis. It was hard when Trunks forbade her to see him, but at least he was still in the same city as her in case she desperately needed him. She didn't want to have to fly halfway across the world to see him. She'd have to be without him for months at a time.

She had Bulla and Marron, but it was hard to forget about Trunks and her mom around those two. The two girls were always around her house growing up, so they inadvertently reminded her of her mother, just like her father and brothers did. As for Trunks, he was one of Marron's favorite topics of conversation and Bulla's brother. Even when they were right by her side, she still felt alone.

Paul wasn't connected to her mom or stepbrother. When he and her got together, it was nothing but fun and temporary numbness. They talked about everything, excluding the things that caused her the most suffering. It was as if Paul knew she was sad and did everything he possibly could to make her smile. She wasn't smiling now, though. He had failed her and was leaving her, just like so many others had.

Pan figured that this was her punishment for having used Paul. He was being taken away from her because she didn't deserve him, because she was selfish; and it was true. Who knew how long she would have strung him along? Who knew how much of his life Pan would've wasted all because she couldn't stand to be alone? Yes, he should have told her his plans sooner, but she should've been honest with him, too.

Her anger gave way to crushing sadness as she realized that her last lifeline was about to be severed. It was for the best, though. Paul had to get away from her while he could. Pan couldn't offer him more than a casual relationship and that wasn't fair to him. If he didn't break up with her before he left, she would end it herself.

She gave him a shaky smile, her eyes filling with tears. "It's okay, Paul. I understand." Pan turned her head to speak to Trunks. "Can you let me out, please? I need to use the bathroom."

He hesitated, looking at her with something that resembled concern. Pan couldn't be sure, though, because tears were blurring her vision. Finally, he got up, allowing Pan to scoot out of the booth. She hurried to the women's restroom and was relieved & surprised to find all the stalls empty. Considering how packed the restaurant was, she had expected at least a couple of the stalls to be occupied. For once, though, she was grateful to be alone.

 **Author's Note:**

Poor Pan, right? Or not poor Pan? She clearly thinks that she's getting what she deserves. What do you guys think? Let me know in a review. I'm sorry it's short. I've been trying to make my chapters longer, but I keep running out of time. I'm currently working on the next chapter & I'll tell you this: it's going to be a bit steamy ;) See ya'll on Wednesday!

-Chels xoxo


	7. Hot n' Cold

**I'm back! Sorry about that two week wait, but I like I said, I was sick. Better late than never, though, right? I'm not 100%, but I'm definitely better than I was last week. Ugh…last week was terrible. I don't want to gross ya'll out, but I threw up a couple times & I had no idea why. It didn't feel like the flu. No more talk about that, though. Let's talk about the chapter instead. There will be some mature content about halfway through it & until the end pretty much. Ya'll knew what you were getting into when you started reading this story, but still, if it offends you, skip this chapter or at least the second half of it. For the rest of you, enjoy ;)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: You really do want to see Trunks get kicked in the balls, don't you? Haha. He does deserve it. Maybe I'll make it happen. He has his reasons for everything, though, I swear. I can't promise you that his reasons are unselfish or justifiable, but still, he has them. Oh, poor Marron…we'll get to her next chapter, I think. It's all about Pan & Trunks this chapter ;)**

 **To SERLee: I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry. I guess it's a good thing that my writing got to you, but I'm still sorry. Haha. Trunks is a frisky bastard, isn't he? He was trying to make her uncomfortable & it worked. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, hon :)**

 **To GVLuver: I'm so happy you like it so far. I'll try not to disappoint :)**

 **To MRMenaMRM: Can I just say that getting a review from an author who's story you're reading is incredibly flattering & nerve wracking. Haha. It's silly, I know, but I love Vanishing Romance, so it's really cool that an author I like is reading my story. **

**Thank you for your condolences. My uncle is definitely devastated over the loss. Aiden's mother, too, but I have less sympathy for her; she refused to take him to the hospital when he was so sick. Still, it can't be easy for either of them.**

 **On a happier note, thank you so much for your review. I like that you can relate to my story. Pan's miserable now, but when you're at the bottom, the only place left to go is up, right? Things will definitely get better…eventually ;)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: I'm glad you're intrigued. I'm also happy that I was able to put together something you haven't seen done a hundred times. I'll try to keep you interested :) Thank you for the reviews btw!**

 **To NR: I do write my chapters on my phone. I do all my writing at night & the light from my laptop keeps my boyfriend up & I hate typing on my tablet. I guess I could go sit on the couch, but I'm so comfy in my bed. Haha. Thank you for being so understanding about my cold. You had it worse with the flu. I hope you're back to normal. It's been a few weeks, so you must be. Still, the flu is terrible & I'm sorry you had to deal with it. I'm all about flu shots. Haha. Thanks again for the sweet review :)**

 **To lordshuvra: I'm feeling a lot better, thanks, hon. Don't feel too bad for Pan. She'll find her happy ending eventually :)**

 **Chapter Seven: Hot n' Cold**

Pan was grateful to be alone in the restaurant bathroom; she didn't need anyone eavesdropping on her emotional breakdown. Placing her hands on the sink, she leaned forward and stared at her reflection in the mirror. A couple tears had escaped, creating wet trails down her cheeks. She wasn't crying because she was going to miss Paul, though; she was crying because she was going to miss the feeling he gave her, the peace.

"You really are a selfish bitch, Pan Son," she told her reflection.

"Now, I wouldn't go that far."

Pan whirled around to find Trunks standing behind her; she hadn't even heard him come in. "What're you doing in here?" she scolded. "This is the girl's bathroom, Trunks. Long purple hair or not, you're still a boy."

"Geez, I take it back; you _can_ be a little bitchy," he teased her.

She sighed tiredly, emotionally drained. "Trunks, please, not now. I don't have the energy to do this right now. Just go." Bowing her head, she turned back to the mirror.

Pan heard Trunks approach her, his footsteps echoing off the walls of the bathroom. She felt him place his hands on her shoulders and gently turn her back around to face him; she kept her head down. He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so that her eyes were on his. Laying his hand on her cheek, he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears that had fallen.

"I always hated it when you cried," he told her quietly. "I still do."

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. If that were true, you wouldn't have been so mean to me all these years. _You_ wouldn't have made me cry."

"That doesn't mean I liked it," he claimed. "Remember a few months ago at the wedding when you caught me staring at you while you were crying?"

"Of course I do," she responded. "You can be such a creep sometimes, Brief."

"I wasn't trying to be creepy," he chuckled. "I was just thinking."

"About what? Something dickish to say?"

"Not exactly. I was trying to decide if I should walk away or comfort you like I used to when you would get hurt while we sparred. Obviously, I picked the former. I thought it was best to keep my distance."

"I guess a weeping girl isn't worth your time," she snarled.

Rolling his eyes, he said, "My point is that I don't like seeing you cry. I didn't like it that day and I don't like it now. I couldn't stay away this time, though."

"If you don't like it, then why the hell did you always make me cry? Why do you still do it?" Pan snapped.

"It's complicated," he replied.

"Complicated?" she repeated. "God, you're the most confusing person I've ever met." She shoved him away from her, putting some space between them. His proximity and touch threatened to break her further. Glaring at him, she asked again, "Why are you in here, Trunks? Shouldn't you be out there celebrating? This is what you wanted after all. Paul and I are done. If you're here to gloat, don't; just leave me alone."

"It is what I wanted," Trunks agreed, "but I'm not here to gloat."

"Right," she scoffed again and laughed humorlessly. "Why else would you have followed me into the women's restroom?"

"I was worried about you," he said as if it were obvious.

"I don't believe that for a second. You've never cared before and I doubt you care now. Like I said, this is what you wanted. Wish granted. Paul will be gone soon and then you can start thinking of more ways to torment me."

"I do care, Pan," he corrected her. "Yes, I wanted you two apart, but I didn't expect you to take it so hard. I honestly didn't think you loved him or anything. Guess I was wrong."

"I don't love him," Pan snapped. "Our relationship is…complicated."

"Complicated how?" inquired Trunks.

"I'm not going to open up to you of all people, Trunks," she spat. "You wouldn't understand anyway. I doubt that any of your relationships lasted longer than a fuck or two."

"Well, you're not wrong," the older Saiyan smirked.

Pan rolled her eyes, disgusted. "Could you at least pretend not to be such a man whore?"

"You're the one who brought it up," he said. "I wasn't about to deny it. Oh, and for your information, I have been in love once."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You have? With who?"

"I don't think so, Son. That's all you're getting from me," he said with a shake of his head. "Don't try to change the subject to my love life; we were talking about yours."

"I told you I'm not going to talk to you about it," Pan sigh, exasperated.

Trunks was silent as he stared at her contemplatively. Pan turned back to the mirror, keeping an eye on his reflection out of the corner of her eye as she tried to fix her smeared make up. After several long, awkward moments, he finally said, "I didn't want you and that kid to break up because I wanted to hurt you, you know."

The black-haired girl's eyes connected with his in the mirror and she watched him cautiously as he approached her again. "Why then?"

"He doesn't deserve you," he told her simply. "No one does."

Pan's eyes narrowed. "You think I'm so bad that no man deserves someone like me? Thanks, asshole. You sure know how to cheer a girl up."

"What?" She saw his brow furrow in the mirror. "I mean the opposite, Pan. You're too good for him, for any man."

Her narrowed eyes widened in surprise. That was his reason for wanting them apart? Why did he feel that way? He hated her…didn't he? Pan continued to stare at his reflection while she pondered his words, their meaning and if he truly meant them. For all she knew, it could've been another joke; she wasn't prepared to rule out the possibility.

Before she knew it, Trunks was standing directly behind her. She jumped when she felt him lay his hands on her hips. "Trunks? What're you doing?"

He lowered his head and buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. He held her gaze as he replied, "What I've wanted to do all night." He inhaled again. "You smell so good. You've no idea how hard it was sitting so close to you. You were making my mouth water more than the food was."

"I'm not even wearing perfume," Pan said through trembling lips. Having him so close to her, touching her, caused every rational thought to leave her mind. She forgot what an asshole he was, that they were step siblings, and that they were in a public bathroom. Her primal urges and long suppressed desires began to take over and she leaned back into him. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her tighter against him as his tongue darted out to taste her.

"So good," he half-groaned, his eyes temporarily closing. She assumed her "smell" was a Saiyan thing & only another Saiyan would react so strongly to it. When his eyes opened again, Pan noticed that they had darkened with obvious desire, as had her own. "God, I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what anymore?" Pan whispered.

So fast it made her slightly dizzy, Trunks spun her around, so that she was once again facing him. He lowered his head, his mouth slowly descending towards hers. Pan's heart beat rapidly in her chest as he closed the distance between them. When his lips were only centimeters away from hers, he stopped, his blue eyes staring intensely into her dark ones.

"Pan, I-" His head suddenly jerked to the side in the direction of the bathroom door, the sound of approaching laughter catching his attention & cutting him off. It sounded like female laughter and there was only one place they could be going. "Shit," growled Trunks.

"What're we going to do?" Pan asked, panicked. She didn't know what would happen if she got caught in the women's restroom with a boy, but she didn't want to find out.

"In here." Trunks grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stall farthest away from the door. If Pan's head wasn't so foggy with arousal, she would have known that hiding in a stall was the obvious answer to their problem. Pushing her in before him, Trunks managed to close and lock the door right as the one to the bathroom creaked open. The laughter of the girls who entered echoed loudly through the room.

"God, this heat is ruining my make up," one said.

"Totally," another replied. "There's no point wearing it if you're just going to sweat it off."

"At least I'll look good for a minute or two before it does. Let me fix it and then we can get the hell out of here and go somewhere with decent air conditioning," the first girl told the other.

Pan heard the faucet turn on and the sound of water running. She released the breath she had been holding and turned to look at Trunks, who was already staring at her. He raised his index finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet. Then he pushed her backward until her back hit the cool tile of the wall. He pressed his hard body against her as he cupped her face and guided her lips to his.

It felt like an eternity, but his lips finally brushed against hers, sending a shiver down her spine. His kiss started off slow & soft, the complete opposite of their first kiss, which was hungry and aggressive. It felt more intimate, almost like he was savoring it. He soon became desperate for more, though. His lips quickly became more demanding, his tongue forcing its way into her willing mouth. When his tongue brushed against hers for the first time, she couldn't stop the small moan that escaped, which drew the attention of the girls Pan had almost forgotten were in the room with them.

"Hello?" the first girl's voice called out. "Is everything okay?"

Trunks' mouth detached from hers, trailing kisses down her jaw and neck, leaving Pan free to answer. "Everything's fine," she replied, trying to calm her erratic breathing. "Just really bad cramps."

"Been there," the girl sympathized. "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks," Pan gasped out as Trunks nibbled on her neck. She bit her lip to stop another moan from escaping.

A few seconds later, the bathroom door opened again and she heard the girls leave. Reaching down, she pulled Trunks' face back up to hers and reclaimed his lips. She brought her leg up and wrapped it around his thigh, allowing him to grind the hardness between his legs against her.

Taking advantage of their new-found privacy, he whispered between kisses, "I can't fucking stop thinking about you, Panny." _Kiss._ "Seeing you with someone else-" _kiss_ "-it was driving me crazy." _Kiss._ "I wanted to be the one taking you out tonight."

Pan was delirious with lust, but she still had enough brain power left to remember how he had acted earlier that night when he first met Paul. If what Trunks had just said was true, then that meant her suspicions were correct; he was jealous of Paul, which had to mean he wanted her.

Before she could delve deeper into her revelation, she felt Trunks' hands pushing again at the hem of her dress, forcing all coherent thought out of her head. Unlike earlier, though, when he was trying to make her uncomfortable during dinner by doing the same thing, his hands were now driven by lust and need. He continued to kiss her deeply and hungrily as his hands slid up her legs with purpose.

Her weak knees almost gave out completely when he finally reached his destination, massaging her mound through her underwear with his large palm. She had never been touched by a man that way before and the pleasure racing through her was overwhelming to say the least.

Powerless to resist him, Pan felt him pull her panties to the side, his finger slipping easily inside her wet core. When his thumb began rubbing gentle circles on her clitoris and a second finger entered her, she broke the kiss to moan loudly, her hands grasping his strong biceps to keep herself standing.

Trunks smirked at the sound. "Quiet, Panny. You're going to get us caught."

Pan could only nod as she felt an orgasm beginning to build, the light contractions becoming stronger and sweeter with each passing second. Trunks' fingers slid in and out of her, his thumb swirling faster than before and with the perfect amount of pressure. The pleasure deep within her continued to build and build until finally, she exploded.

"Oh, God," She bit her lip & whimpered, arching her pelvis against his hand and gripping his biceps as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her. The familiar fireworks she saw when they first kissed burst behind her closed eyes and the electric feeling she was beginning to associate with him frayed every one of her nerve endings.

"That's it," Trunks muttered, letting her ride out her release while massaging her with his palm again.

They were both breathing hard when she came down from her high, her from the powerful climax she had just experienced and him from his pent up desire.

"We should get out of here," she said once her breathing had returned to normal. "Before someone else comes in."

Trunks stared at her for a moment, his fiery eyes gorgeous & captivating, before leaning down and kissing her again, his lips forceful and desperate. His hand ran through her long black hair, knotting behind her ear. He bit and sucked on her bottom lip before breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against hers.

"I fucking need you," he panted. "Right the fuck now."

"We can't," Pan whispered. Shame was already starting to simmer in her gut, making her feel sick. She couldn't believe she had let him do that to her, in a bathroom stall no less. They were both here on dates with other people, not to mention they were also step siblings. _Oh, God, what would my dad think if he found out what I had done?_

"You're right," Trunks told her, looking around as if just now realizing where they were. "We should go home. Our parents & Bulla should be gone, so we'll have plenty of privacy."

 _Our parents_. That only made her shame and guilt worsen. She loved Trunks and she would've gone home with him in a heartbeat; but they shared said home with his mother and her father, parents they also shared now. It didn't matter that they weren't home. How could she do something she knew they would disapprove of under their roof? If she didn't think it would hurt her father, she would take Trunks up on his offer, but she knew it would and she didn't want to be responsible for hurting her only remaining parent.

Also, she didn't completely trust Trunks' intentions. She didn't know exactly how he felt about her and she didn't know that he wouldn't leave her the next morning; she couldn't handle it if he did. His words sounded nice and genuine, but words could be deceiving. It was hard for her to trust someone who had already caused her so much pain. He may say he wanted her, needed her, but who's to say he wasn't lying & if he wasn't, who's to say he'd still want her once he had her once. Plus, he was with Marron, who was crazy about him. She didn't want to gamble with her friend's heart or her own. There was too much uncertainty, too much risk of her heart getting broken.

"No, Trunks," Pan whispered, pushing him away. "We can't do this, we can't go any further. We've already done more than we should have."

"What do you mean?"

"You're my stepbrother now. We can't do stuff like that with each other. No matter how much we want to. You said so yourself after we kissed at the wedding."

"I changed my mind, Pan," he said. "I don't want to stay away from you anymore. It's killing me."

She looked into his eyes and saw sincerity there. It only hurt her more, though, to think he actually did want her, but that she couldn't be with him without hurting those closest to her. Pan squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "You're so hot and cold, Trunks. I don't know which side of you is the real one. Besides, what about our parents? They're married, remember?"

"Screw them," Trunks declared. "Why should their marriage dictate how we live our lives?"

"They wouldn't like it." Pan opened her eyes and stared at him through watery eyes. "They'd be so ashamed. I can't do that to my dad."

"They'd get over it," he insisted. "I think they'd want us to be happy."

"Even if they were okay with it- and that's a big if- what about Marron?" she inquired.

"What about her?" he countered.

"She's head over heels for you, Trunks. Always has been."

"Marron's not exactly my type."

"If she's not your type, then why the hell would you ask her out?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to crash your date, but I needed a date of my own. It was obvious that Marron had a thing for me, so I asked her."

Pan's mouth fell open in shock. She recovered quickly, though, and sneered at him,"You were just using her? That's disgusting. I didn't think even you could sink that low."

"I needed to crash your date, Panny," he said frantically, eager to explain himself. "I had to get you away from that guy."

"And you decided to use my friend to do it?" the angry Saiyan yelled. "You may have no problem hurting Marron, but I can't do it." She moved to leave, but Trunks grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Pan, I don't want to hurt Marron either, but I had no choice. I realized too late that staying away from you was impossible. Please, come back to the house with me and we'll talk more. I can explain everything." He stared at her with wide pleading eyes. Pan was tempted to give in, but she couldn't. She shook her head, pulled her arm free, & exited the stall, Trunks yelling after her, regardless of who might hear him. "I'm not done with you, Pan. Not by a long shot."

She kept walking, though, desperate to leave the restaurant and get home. Trunks had finally admitted he had some sort of feelings for her- assuming he was telling the truth, of course- but everything and everyone was still against them. She was right; knowing he cared about her, too, was a lot worse than her feelings being unrequited. She didn't think life could get any worse than it was, but it had.

 **Author's Note:**

I'm really sorry if this chapter didn't meet your expectations. I feel like my recent fever fried my brain a bit & I'm hoping it didn't affect my writing too much. That being said…how was it? Good? Bad? I hope some of Trunks' behavior was explained. Let me know your thoughts, opinions, & feelings in a lovely review. Or don't; I won't hold it against you ;) I forgot to apologize when I started this story for any OOC-ness, so, yeah, sorry. Also, I was thinking about doing a one-shot sequel to my story _Until the End._ What I need from you, though, are baby names. Even if you haven't read it, I'd love to hear your suggestions. One boy name & one girl name, please. Thanks, guys. See ya'll next Wednesday!

P.S. Welcome to all my new story followers. Your support means the world to me. Thank you! That goes for all my readers. You guys are the best :) 3

-Chels xoxo


	8. When We Were Young

**Welcome back, my awesome readers! I've got a little treat for you. Now that you all kind of know that Trunks isn't a complete jerk, I've decided that it was time to start doing some chapters (or at least parts of chapters) in his point of view. I wanted to do it sooner, but I wanted to keep you in the dark about how Trunks really felt for a little while longer. His behavior will be explained in this chapter, so I hope ya like it :)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Shoot, if that's what'll happen if he gets kicked in the balls, then I'll gladly do it, so I can take care of him. Haha. The situation Pan's in definitely isn't easy. It's hard knowing your choices could hurt the people you love. The smart thing to do would be to talk to their parents, but I'm sure they're scared of their reaction. Trunks will tell Marron his reason for asking her out, but not yet. Her reaction is a mystery even to me. Lol. Thanks for the review. I always enjoy them :)**

 **To SERLee: Sharing a home together after what happened in the bathroom I can imagine will be very awkward, for Pan at least. We'll get to all that next chapter. This one is more of a flashback chapter. I love your baby names. I definitely plan on doing the sequel in the future. I'm so happy you're excited for it :)**

 **To GVLuver: I'm glad you can relate to how Pan feels, but I'm also sorry. I'd hate for anyone to go through that. I feel evil for writing it. Haha. Thanks for the review as always, hon :)**

 **To dbz432: I'm glad you liked that little bathroom scene. I'm always nervous about people's reactions to that sort of thing. Lol. Thanks for the review :)**

 **To k8ag8ome: Of course I'll continue. I'm so happy you like it :) Thank you for your review btw :)**

 **To lordshuvra: Thanks, hon. I'm feeling a lot better now. I do know that sexual relationships between step siblings is taboo. That's why it's so great. Haha. No lemon this chapter. Probably not for at least two or three more. Hope you can wait that long :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I'm sorry my story is making you so anxious & angry, but I'm glad you still like it. Lol. Don't worry; I fixed the "&" problem. I'm sorry if I still do it once in awhile, though. I edit my chapters, but I might miss one every so often. I do write my chapters on my phone. Like I mentioned before, my laptop is too bright & it'll keep the boyfriend awake& I hate typing on my tablet- too slow. I'm good at catching typos, so it usually isn't a problem. Except for y'all. I'm a grammar nazi & I hate that I didn't know that one. I have no excuse, except that I'm a California girl. Lol. I don't have too much occasion to use it. Thanks for pointing it out. Now I can stop looking like an idiot ;)**

 **You're not insensitive. I think you're super sweet for sending me a PM. Thank you for your condolences. I felt I had to apologize to you guys when Aiden's death prevented me from updating. I have a responsibility to you guys. It was one of the hardest things to endure, though, & I just wasn't able to get a word typed, even though I wanted to. **

**Anywho, here's the update. I hope a chapter every week isn't too long a wait for you. I wish I could get them out quicker and more often, but life, you know? Lol. Thanks for your sweet review, hon :)**

 **Chapter Eight: When We Were Young**

 **Trunks' POV**

She had walked away from him. He supposed he deserved it; he had done the same thing to her after a similar scenario two months ago. Trunks had admitted how he felt about her, though, or at least he hinted at it. After everything he had said to her, how could she just walk away? Was it because of his "hot and cold" behavior? Pan had told him herself how confused she was, that she didn't know what to believe.

Still in the women's bathroom stall, he dropped his head into his hands as he realized how badly he had fucked up. He had never meant to mess her up so badly, to hurt so severely that she couldn't trust a thing he said. Trunks just wanted to push her away. It was his way of protecting her when she was younger. His plan was obviously flawed and probably not the best way he could've handled the situation.

It had all started a month or two after Pan turned fourteen. Before then, Trunks and her had been thick as thieves. They sparred together, he helped her with her homework, and she would spend most of her free time at the office with him. She was like another sister to him…until she wasn't anymore. He remembered clearly the day everything changed for them…

 _Four years earlier_

"Trunks! Get your ass down here!"

The lavender-haired Saiyan smiled and rolled his eyes at the sound of Pan Son's voice calling him from downstairs. She never came to his bedroom door to get him; she preferred to yell at the top of her lungs.

"Just like her mother," Trunks chuckled to himself. Hoisting himself off his bed, he headed downstairs to see his annoying, but lovable friend. It had been a month since he had seen her because her mother, Chi Chi, insisted she focus on her schoolwork after a bad report card. He couldn't deny that he missed her and was looking forward to sparring again with his favorite punching bag. Trunks rounded a corner and entered the kitchen, where he knew she would be. "Hey, punk," he greeted with a large grin. "Long time no see."

Pan had been talking to his father, so her back was to Trunks. When she turned around to face him, he stopped dead in his tracks, his smile disappearing instantly. She looked so…different; and Trunks couldn't decide if it was a good different or a bad different. He soon determined that it was bad, very bad. His once small sister like friend had transformed into a woman in the last month, a woman who he could already tell would be stunning when she was done growing.

Her short black hair was now noticeably longer, the bangs swept to the side, making her look older than she was. The make up on her face also made her look older than fourteen. Black lined her eyes, eyeshadow coated her eyelids, and her lips were painted a glossy red. Continuing his path downward, he noticed that the tight, red mid riff top left nothing to the imagination. Her breasts were obviously bigger and…perfect. _Perfect?_ He thought. _I did not just think that, did I?_ His eyes moved down to her toned stomach and her wider hips. Her legs were longer, too, though she was still a good foot shorter than him.

When Trunks' eyes finally found her face again, he found it almost spilt in two with a huge, beaming smile that took his breath away. She closed the small gap between them and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Boxer Briefs!" she squealed. "Did you miss me?"

Trunks returned the embrace while trying to tamp down the semi in his pants. He couldn't ignore her soft body pressed up against his and his own body was reacting accordingly.

"Uh, yeah, um," he stammered. "O-of course I missed you, Pancake."

She pulled back to look at him, her eyebrows scrunched together. "You okay, Trunks? You're acting especially weird today."

"I'm fine," he replied, taking a couple steps back and forcing a smile.

"Are you sure? Because you're kind of treating me like a stranger."

He laughed shakily. "You kind of are. Look at you, Pan; you look completely different."

"Is that bad?" she asked, pouting.

"No, it's great," he lied. The adorable pout adorning her porcelain face was not helping his situation.

What he said wasn't entirely a lie, though. She did look great, but it was bad for him. The thoughts he was having about her were making him feel like a grade A pervert. Here he was, a twenty-year old grown man, and he was eye fucking a fourteen-year old girl. He was so disgusted with himself that he knew a scalding hot shower couldn't even cleanse him.

"Thanks," she beamed. "You're looking pretty good yourself. Uncle Vegeta, though-" she glanced at his father, who was sitting at the kitchen table- "-said you've been neglecting your training."

Trunks glared at his dad. "Gossiping, Father? Shouldn't you leave that to Mom & Chi Chi?"

"Watch your tone, boy," Vegeta snapped. "It's not gossip if it's a known fact. Peace time doesn't mean you can slack off. You don't want to end up like Kakarot's first born, do you?"

The blue-eyed Saiyan rolled his eyes. "Gohan's doing just fine if you ask me, Dad."

"Fine for a human," the older man corrected, "but we are Saiyans, damn it. We weren't meant to be anything but warriors. It's a disgrace to be anything else."

"Last I checked, though, 'Saiyan warrior' doesn't exactly pay the bills." Vegeta scowled at his joke while Pan covered her mouth to stifle her giggle.

"Tone, boy. I won't say it again," he scolded. "You should be more like this brat." He pointed at Pan, who smiled proudly. "Out of all that clown's children, she's the most dedicated and the one that annoys me the least."

"Aw, thanks, Uncle Vegeta," Pan said, proud smile still in place. "I'll try to rub off on this one." She nodded her head at Trunks and winked at him.

 _She could rub me all she wants_. Trunks shook his head, desperate to clear his mind of those thoughts. _God, I'm sick._

"Maybe you should talk less about it and actually do something," his father said to her. "Go show my son how a true Saiyan trains."

Trunks rolled his eyes again, while Pan gave him a sympathetic smile; she knew how hard his father could be on him. "You got it. Let's go, Trunks." She started walking toward the door that led to the backyard. Before she made it, though, Chi Chi and his own mother walked into the kitchen.

"Where are you going, Pan?" her mother asked sternly.

"To train, Mama," Pan grumbled in reply. "You said I could, remember?"

"I remember. I also remember that I said one hour. Then you have to get back to your studies."

Rolling her eyes, Pan groaned out, "I know, Mama."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady."

"Ugh, let's go." She grabbed Trunks' hand and led him outside. "God, she can be so annoying. Sometimes I wish she'd just disappear."

"It would definitely be quieter," Trunks told her, making the younger Saiyan giggle.

"I know, right?" While she continued to laugh, Trunks fell behind a few steps. As Pan walked ahead of him, he couldn't help but notice the sway of her hips with each step she took. It was almost hypnotic. Mesmerized, he stopped walking completely and only started again when Pan called his name. "Trunks? You okay?"

He looked up and found her face pinched with concern. Thankfully, it didn't look like she noticed him staring at her ass. It took him a moment to collect himself, but when he did, he managed a small smile and a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, sorry. Guess I just got lost in thought."

Pan laughed with him. "Must've been some thought. You looked totally out of it."

"Sorry," he apologized again. Trunks nodded toward the training room. "Come on, let's get started. We only have an hour."

The raven-haired girl's face darkened again at the reminder of their time limit. "Right."

Trunks took the lead and guided them to the Gravity Room, favored by his father and because of that, constantly being rebuilt. They entered the cool room, Trunks locking the door and turning on the lights once they were both inside.

"Welcome back," he told her.

Pan turned to him and smiled wide. "It looks different than the last time I was here. Your dad destroy it again?"

He couldn't help smiling back at her. "Of course. You know he does at least once a month."

"Your poor mom," she giggled. "I love your dad, but how can she put up with him?"

"You and my dad are exactly alike, you know that, right?" Trunks pointed out.

"We are not!" Pan objected.

"Carbon copies," he smirked. "Stubborn Saiyans who's main reason for living is training."

She glared and stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh loudly. Despite her changing appearance, Pan was still the same girl and Trunks took comfort in that. She was the same, he was the same, they were the same. There was no reason for him to think of her differently.

Trunks was convinced that nothing had changed, not really. Sure her new look had thrown him off at first, but she still acted like the girl he'd always known. She was still the same stubborn, fun, beautiful- no, not beautiful. He never thought of her as beautiful before…did he? No, that would have been sick and perverse of him. She was the same old Panny and his body was the one that was confused, not his mind.

He was trying to figure out why his body would react to Pan in such a way when he looked to the side and noticed Pan's fighting stance was off. "Panny, spread your feet a little more," he advised her.

She looked down at her feet, spread them a little farther, and then looked back up at him. "Like this?"

Trunks shook his head. "Come here. I'll help you."

She approached him until she stood right in front of him and shrugged. "I guess that month without training affected me more than I thought, huh?"

"I guess so," he agreed. "Now turn around."

Pan turned and Trunks knelt behind her. His earlier thought that she was still the same went flying out the window as soon as he placed his hands on her hips. He tried to ignore her ass in front of his face while he turned her hips a fraction and then moved his hands down her toned legs to adjust her feet. In spite of his best efforts, his body was beginning to notice his close proximity to her body. It was starting to notice how her body felt against his hands, how that same body filled his vision, and her smell- he couldn't explain it, but it was the most delicious thing he had ever inhaled. The hardness in his pants was evidence of everything he was feeling.

The lavender-haired man wanted to pin this younger woman beneath him, but not like he would do if they were training. He wanted her beneath him in ways that filled him with guilt and shame and uncontrollable desire. Trunks yanked his hands away and stood up abruptly.

Pan looked at him over her shoulder and grinned. "Am I good to go?"

 _I'm good to go_ , Trunks thought at the same time he felt his member twitch. He knew if she looked down, she would be able to see what she was doing to him, so, ignoring her question, he turned and left the room. Pan called after him, but he didn't stop, instead hastening his pace.

Trunks didn't stop until he was locked inside his bedroom. He breath came out in quick spurts and he knew it wasn't because of the walk up the stairs. Taking deep breaths, he tried to steady his racing heart and quell the swelling below his belt. He had barely gotten himself under control when a knock came at his door.

"Who is it?" he called.

"Trunks, it's me," came Pan's voice from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

Trunks swallowed hard as he tried to think of an excuse to get rid of her. "Now's not a good time, Panny. I'm...not feeling well."

"You seemed fine a minute ago," her muffled voice said.

"That was a minute ago," he snapped. He didn't mean to, but she was frustrating him in more ways than one. "Just go, Pan."

"No," she told him stubbornly." Not until you open this door and tell me what's really wrong."

Trunks growled softly and started pacing back and forth across his bedroom floor. What was he going to do? He knew Pan and he knew she was serious. She'd camp outside his door all night if she had to. He racked his brain, trying to think of some way to make her back off. It was impossible for him to be around her without wanting to jump her and-

He suddenly stopped pacing as realization dawned on him. It was impossible for him to be around her now and she wasn't even done developing yet. How hard would it be as she got older? What if he lost control and he ended up doing something he would regret? What if he hurt her? Trunks closed his eyes as he realized what he had to do. The only way to protect her was to push her away and there was only one way he could think of to do that.

Opening his eyes, he put on the angriest and most annoyed face he could manage and marched to the door, yanking it open. "Happy?" he growled.

Pan looked momentarily taken aback by his harsh tone, but she quickly recovered and glared back at him. "Are you going to tell me what the hell is wrong with you?"

"You're what's wrong," he pretended to hiss.

The younger Saiyan's glare fell and hurt replaced it, breaking Trunks' heart. "What?"

Trunks took a deep breath as he prepared to destroy one of his closest friends. _It's for her own good_. "I'm done, Pan. I can't deal with you anymore. I've tolerated you all these years, but I can't do it anymore. Trying to teach a simple fighting stance to you was the last straw. I don't have the patience for you like I used to. I'm twenty and I don't want to hang out with little kids. I have better things to do than help you train. The month long reprieve I had from you made me realize that I want to spend every month like that. It was the best month of my life." Tears started to form in Pan's eyes as he spoke. He hated having to hurt her like this, especially when it was all bullshit lies. He wanted her. Hell, maybe he'd wanted her before that day, but he couldn't go there, not with her. That was a line he wouldn't allow himself to cross. His job had always been to protect her and it was a job he took seriously. Right now, it was his responsibility to protect her from himself.

"I don't believe you," she whispered. "This isn't you."

"It is me," he lied. "You're just seeing it for the first time. You were too naïve to see it before. I can't blame you, though; you are just a child." He knew that would be like a punch in the gut to her and the gasp that left her mouth proved it. "Feel free to come back to train, but don't expect me to 'play' with you. You have two brothers; go bother them."

"Trunks-"

"What did I say? Leave me the fuck alone, Son!" he shouted.

A sob escaped her lips. "I hate you, Trunks Brief," she cried before turning and disappearing down the hall, her sobs echoing off the walls.

When she was gone, Trunks closed his door, leaned his back against it and slid down to the floor, burying his face in his hands. He stayed like that for hours, until the sunlight faded from the room and he was left alone in the darkness, wondering if the choice he had made was the right one.

 _Present Day_

At the time, Trunks thought that was the only way to handle his feelings for Pan. He wanted her and he shouldn't have wanted her. Over the years, teasing her was his way of keeping her away from him, of controlling the situation. If she kept her distance, there was no way he could hurt her, at least, not worse than he already was with his words. She was too young and his attraction to her confused and disgusted him. Now that they were older, six years didn't seem like that big of a difference, but back then it seemed like decades separated them.

Pan only got more and more beautiful over time and it became more difficult for Trunks to resist her. He insulted her constantly when she would come over with her parents and brothers, but each mean comment was harder to get out than the one before it. Sometimes, he couldn't bring himself to do it, like when she was crying at the wedding and especially the weeks following her mom's death. That was the hardest for him because all he wanted to do was hold her and comfort her.

Trunks didn't know when it happened, but eventually he realized that his attraction had become something deeper. He was in love with her. He might have always been in love with her, but it was hard to pinpoint when his brotherly love shifted to something more. The way he missed her when her mom wouldn't let her visit, the way her laugh captivated him, how he did everything he could to make her smile, the way the sight of her always made _him_ smile…if that was love, than maybe there was never anything brotherly about his feelings.

Trunks sighed before he left the bathroom stall in the women's restroom and discreetly snuck out and back to the dining area of the restaurant. As he walked back to the table, he looked around the room, trying to spot Pan, but his search was in vain. She had most likely left immediately after she left the bathroom. Arriving back at the table, he found Marron and Paul engaged in conversation, his date laughing almost hysterically at whatever the latter had just said.

"Hey," Trunks greeted.

"Hey, man," Paul said. "Where's Pan?"

"You haven't seen her?" the half-Saiyan asked, confused. He figured Pan would've said something to her date before leaving.

"Not since she went to the bathroom after, well, you know," Paul told him sheepishly.

"She must not have been feeling well," Trunks lied. "I better go check on her. Do you mind taking Marron home for me?"

"That's fine," the brown-haired boy answered. "That okay with you, Mar?"

"Sure, I don't mind," she replied, smiling wide at Paul. Trunks had expected her to be more upset with him for ditching her, but he didn't question it.

"Great," Trunks said. "You two have a good night." He left without another word, desperate to find Pan.

 **Author's Note:**

There's Trunks' side of the story. What did you think? Leave a review to let me know what your thoughts. Real quick, just so y'all know, I live in Southern California, so I update according to California time. If you're hours ahead of me, then I'm sorry, but you'll probably get the updates on Thursday's instead of Wednesday's. No one has said anything about it, but I've been meaning to tell you guys. That being said, see you guys next Wednesday/Thursday!

P.S. Still accepting baby names, even if you haven't read Until the End. A boy & a girl, name, please. I've already got some awesome suggestions. Thanks, guys! :)

-Chels :)


	9. Beside You

**Hello again! Quick head's up, this chapter gets heartbreakingly sad. Sorry :( I promise it gets better, though.**

 **I forgot to tell y'all that chapter seven's title was a Katy Perry song. When We Were Young is by The Killers.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Great minds think alike ;) I had already planned on having Pan go to the cemetery, but I wasn't going to have Trunks show up. I think I'll steal your idea again & do that. Lol. All your questions will be answered in this chapter, even the Vegeta one, which I wasn't planning on revealing until later in the story, but decided to let you guys know early. Enjoy :)**

 **To SERLee: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I really liked writing it. Trunks' POV was a nice change. I hope you like this one, too ;)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I know right? Poor Pan. It was a little hard to write. I almost teared up during :/ I had a feeling you were from the south & that's why you called me out on it. Lol. I have a good friend in Texas & we Skype all the time, but I haven't once heard him say y'all. Thanks for the review, hon. Next chapter is finally here; hope ya like it :)**

 **To lordshuvra: I'd rather you feel sorry for Trunks than think he's a jackass. Haha. I actually need kid names for a sequel to my other story. It's a Pan & Vegeta story. Some people find that weird, so I won't be offended if you haven't read it. Whether you read it or not, I'd still love people's baby name ideas. I might use some for this story, too. Thank you for another sweet review! :)**

 **To VegetaIsMyMaster: Thanks for the review, hon. I'm glad you like it. I love your username, by the way. I'm jealous that I didn't think of it first. Lol ;)**

 **To PenguinsHockey14: I'm glad you found my story & I'm even happier that you like it. No need to thank me, hon. I do this for myself as much as I do it for you awesome people :)**

 **Chapter Nine: Beside You**

 **Pan's POV**

Stupid, stupid, stupid. The incident in the bathroom with Trunks was probably the most idiotic thing Pan had ever done. It was worse than when she and Bulla stole one of Bulma's hover car capsules and crashed it into the side of Capsule Corp. It was worse than the day her parents caught her making out with a boy in her bedroom- her mom actually made her father remove her bedroom door after yelling at her for an hour. No, what had happened between her and Trunks was end of the world worthy.

Pan knew she was being overdramatic, but she honestly felt like it was the end of _her_ world. On the way back home, while she was soaring among the stars, she concluded that Trunks was most likely telling the truth about his feelings for her. The look in his eyes seemed too sincere and genuine; she seriously doubted he was faking. In any normal girl's world, that would've been the greatest thing ever, but Pan wasn't in a normal situation. She was in love with her stepbrother and he felt something for her back, but they couldn't be together. It was one of the worst feelings she had ever experienced, only topped by the grief she felt over her mother's death.

 _Where do I go from here?_ she thought as she landed on the front porch of Capsule Corp. Would it be better to act ignorant? Maybe her feelings would eventually fade if she did. If she pretended they didn't exist, wouldn't they disappear for real over time? She knew even as she thought it that no, they wouldn't. This wasn't a crush. It ran deeper than that and was physically a part of her now.

Pan wanted to scream into the still, warm night at the injustice of it all. Her one chance to be happy had been taken away from her before she even really had it. The unfairness of it all left her feeling empty and hollow. She knew that was a dangerous way to feel, but she couldn't help it. Pan always thought that parents were the ones who were meant to make sacrifices and yet here she was, making the biggest one of her life, just so her father could be happy. She didn't know if she was the best daughter ever or just plain stupid.

As if her thoughts had alerted him, her father suddenly appeared at the front door, confusion and concern etched on his still youthful face. "Pan, I thought I sensed you out here. When you didn't come in right away, I got worried."

"I'm fine, Daddy," Pan said meekly.

She only called him that when she was at her most vulnerable. Her father knew that, so she wasn't surprised when he stepped forward and engulfed her in a hug. She hugged him back, needing the comfort.

"What's wrong, honey?" Goku asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Papa," she lied. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

Goku pulled back slightly to look his daughter in the eye. "Something's obviously wrong. Tell me, so I can make it better." Pan shook her head and closed her eyes to keep her tears at bay. Her father was a strong man, the strongest she knew, but he couldn't fix this. No one could. Sighing, the pure Saiyan tried again. "Pan, what do I always say? If you can't tell your own father what's wrong, then you probably shouldn't be doing whatever it is you are doing."

"I haven't done anything." Another lie. She had done plenty that night and her dad's words proved that she shouldn't have. Pan couldn't tell him what had happened between her and Trunks, meaning she shouldn't have done it and that she shouldn't do it again.

"Did someone else do something to upset you then?" Brief anger flashed across his face, but Pan managed to calm him before he did something rash.

"No, Daddy, no one did anything to me," she urged.

Lies, lies, lies. Every word coming out of her mouth left a bitter taste in her mouth. She hated lying to her dad. He was unknowingly the cause of her sorrow. Trunks and her mother were the other reasons. Thinking of her mom, sent another wave of grief crashing down on her. Pan needed her mom more than she ever needed anyone before, but she wasn't here to console and reassure her. A single tear escaped at the crushing thought, not going unnoticed by Goku.

"Panny…" He reached up and wiped it away.

"I need to go."

"Go where?" he questioned, reaching out to her as she started to back away. Pan recoiled from her father's outstretched hand and took to the sky again. She heard him calling after her, but she kept flying, determined to make it to the only place where she might find some sort of solace. She breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't follow her.

Flying at top speed, it took Pan less than a couple of minutes to arrive at her destination- West City Memorial Park. It took the young girl awhile to find the place where her mother was buried, having not been there since the day of her funeral about a year ago. When she finally found it, she fell to her knees and, at last, let the rest of her tears fall, her chest aching as her grief consumed her.

"Mama, I need you," she wept. "So bad. Everything is so messed up. Papa married Bulma. You weren't even gone a year and he went and married a woman who you considered family. How could they do that? To you, to me, to Gohan and Goten. I pretend I'm okay with it, but I'm not, not even a little bit. Worst of all, Trunks is my stepbrother now. I hated the idea at first because of everything he did to me over the past few years. Now I hate it for a completely different reason. I have feelings for him, Mama, but I can't have him. You must be so ashamed of me. I'm so sorry if I've disappointed you. I know it's not right to be in love with my stepbrother, but I can't help it. God, I wish you were here to help me. You always knew what to do. I can't do this anymore, not without you. Please, Mama, help me." Fresh tears ran down her cheeks as she pleaded with her deceased mother. She sobbed harder as the seconds passed and her pleas went unanswered.

Lost in her sorrow, Pan was unaware that she had company until she felt strong arms wrap around her. Looking up, she expected to see her father's dark eyes staring down at her, but instead she was met with Trunks' blue gaze.

"Trunks," she croaked, her throat hoarse from crying. He smiled down at her, but didn't say anything. He pulled her tighter against him and let her cry into his chest as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. Pan's sobs slowly died down as the warmth of Trunks' body permeated her own, bringing with it the sense of calm she had been searching for for so long.

 **Trunks' POV**

At last, Trunks was able to do what he had wanted to do for a year now. This was how he had wanted to comfort her when her mom first died and now he was finally doing it. He didn't care that her tears were ruining the expensive fabric of his shirt or that she was wiping her runny nose on it; he would let her ruin a hundred of his shirts if it made her feel just a little bit better. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, him cradling her small body as she cried her heart out, but he didn't care. He found peace in her just like she was finding comfort in him.

"Trunks?" The lavender-haired Saiyan pulled away to look at Pan, her tears having finally stopped. She closed her eyes as he wiped away the moisture on her cheeks with the long sleeves of his shirt.

"Feel better?" he asked.

She nodded. "As good as I'm going to get," she replied with a sad smile. "Trunks, what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"Well, I was on my way home from the restaurant to find you. I assumed you had gone back to the house, so that's where I started driving to. When I was almost there, though, I sensed a high power level heading away from me. I knew it was you, so I followed the energy trail. Unfortunately, my car is a lot slower than you, so it took me awhile to catch up."

"Why did you want to find me so bad?" Her watery, vulnerable dark eyes staring up at him left him speechless as she searched his face for an explanation. She was beautiful even when she was crying. His silence forced her to ask again, "Trunks? Why'd you follow me? What happened to Marron?"

Trunks forced himself to look away, clearing his throat as he finally answered, "I left Marron with Paul; he said he'd take her home. I was too anxious to find you, so he helped me out."

"Why were you so anxious to find me, Trunks?" There was irritation in her voice as she repeated her question again and Trunks couldn't help but laugh at her; she was always incredibly impatient.

"I would've thought that what happened in the bathroom would've been explanation enough," he said, making her blush slightly at the memory. "I care about you and I had to make sure you were okay. After finding you here the way I did, I'm glad I followed you."

"I'm kind of glad you did, too," Pan admitted, sniffling.

"Really?" he said, surprise lacing his voice. "Never thought I'd hear you say you were glad to see me."

"Don't get used to it," she told him with a shaky laugh.

He laughed with her. "I'll try not to."

Trunks and Pan lapsed into a comfortable silence while he continued to hold her. Despite being in a cemetery at ten o'clock at night, at the grave of a woman he considered to be a second mother to him growing up, Trunks felt happiness creeping into his heart. This was where Pan belonged, beside him. He didn't know how he was able to keep her at arm's length for so long. It only got harder over time and he was surprised he hadn't caved sooner. Trunks was done making her hate him. He was determined to get close to her again, to make her love him like he loved her.

"Trunks," he heard her whisper after awhile, "why did your dad leave? I can't understand why a parent would willingly leave their children. Your mom never talks about him or what happened. I always thought that your parents were happy together."

"They were," he told her. "For awhile at least. From what my mother told me, my father just got restless. He hated that he had assimilated into the human's world. You know that he always thought of them as weak, so he started to think that he was getting weak as a result of living here for so long. He told my mom that he couldn't reach his full potential stuck here on Earth and tied down to a family." Anger entered Trunks' voice as he explained why his father had abandoned them. "He wanted to become stronger than your dad and he said he couldn't that here, with us."

"That's ridiculous," Pan commented. "He could have stayed with your mom and still gone off to train. My dad did it all the time, still does. It pissed my mom off, but she accepted that part of him. I'm sure your mom would have, too."

"If it meant she could've saved their marriage, then yes, she would have," Trunks agreed, "but my father obviously didn't want that."

"I'm sorry, Trunks. It was hard losing my mom, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Your dad left willingly; that must be worse."

"It is what it is," he said dryly. "I tried to get him to stay, he didn't, I've gotten over it."

"There's no getting over something like that, but I know you're strong enough to move past it."

"And you'll get past losing your mom," he assured her. "I know you won't ever truly stop hurting, but it'll get easier over time. You live on with the memories you made. You have to remember the times you had with those you love to push you through the times when they are gone."

"You've gotten so wise in your old age, Brief," Pan joked.

"I am not old, Son," he objected.

"Ancient," she giggled. "Are those silver hairs I see? It might be time to start dying it."

"I don't have any silver hairs…do I?" he asked worriedly.

"Millions," she insisted, laughing harder now.

"You know, somehow I don't believe you," he told her, laughing himself. "Anyway, you told me yourself that I wasn't old, remember?"

"I do, but I'm surprised you do…old man."

Trunks grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him and cutting off her laughter. "Do you also remember what happened after you told me that?"

He watched her cheeks flush as she obviously recalled their first kiss. Trunks thought about it constantly. The moment his lips touched hers for the first time, the same fucking lips he had dreamed about kissing since she was fourteen, the whole world faded away except for her and her lips. That kiss was permanently engraved in his mind. Those same lips were right in front of him again. He stared at them while they parted, Pan's pink tongue peeking out to moisten them. Trunks leaned down to capture her delicious mouth, but was stopped by her quiet voice.

"Trunks?" she whispered.

"Pan," he answered, his harsh breathing ten times louder in the silence of the night. Only an inch of space separated their mouths and the anticipation was killing him, making his heart beat faster with every passing second.

"Can you take me home, please?"

"What?" He jerked back and stared at her with wide eyes.

"I'm really tired," she clarified. "Too tired to fly. Do you mind giving me a ride?"

Trunks took a couple deep breaths in an attempt to calm his raging hormones. He smiled at her, trying not to let his disappointment show. "Sure, Panny. Let's go."

 **Pan's POV**

Trunks stood up, reaching a hand out to help pull Pan to her feet. They walked quietly to where he had left his car and they got in, still not saying a word. It was a comfortable silence that Pan didn't mind. In fact, she loved it. It reminded her of how they used to be. She and Trunks used to be able to sit together for hours without saying a word. It wasn't weird or awkward; it was peaceful, their presence alone enough for both of them. She almost couldn't believe how easy it was to be like this with him again, considering everything he had done to her over the past four years. It gave her hope that life would get better, although she half-expected the world to pull the rug out from under her and shatter her newfound hope.

As they drove through the warm summer night, the day's events and revelations finally took their toll on Pan and she felt sleep pulling at her eyelids, making them heavy. Before she knew it, she and Trunks were home and he was carrying her through the darkened house and up the stairs. She entwined her hands behind his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, just like she used to do when she fell asleep on the couch as a kid and he would carry her to Bulla's room so she could sleep comfortably. It was the little things like that that made her adore him so much when she was younger.

Pan felt her body being lowered and then her back hitting the soft mattress of her bed. Blankets were pulled over her and a chaste kiss placed on her forehead. She opened her eyes a sliver just in time to see Trunks pull away and start toward the door to leave.

"Trunks?" she called out sleepily.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning back around.

"I'm confused," she told him.

"I know, Panny," he said with a sigh.

"I don't know if I can trust you," she added.

Pain flashed in his eyes, but Pan wasn't sure if it was real or a result of her sleep deprived state. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll make up for everything bad I've ever said and did to you. There was a reason for all of it, I swear. I'll explain everything tomorrow, okay?"

Pan nodded sleepily, her mouth refusing to form words and no longer able to keep her eyes open. She heard Trunks start to leave again and then a whispered "good night", before she heard the door close quietly. Unconsciousness began to descend, but before it dragged her down completely, she thought that maybe her mom did answer her prayers after all.

 **Author's Note:**

The chapter started out sad, but ended happily. I was getting tired of the depressing vibe of the story & decided to turn it around…for now anyway. Let me know your thoughts, feelings, & any ideas you might have in a review. See you again in a week :)

-Chels xoxo


	10. You Got A Friend In Me

**Sorry this is a little late. I've been a bit preoccupied all week. The new Captain America came out of course, so I had to go to the midnight premiere of that (the boyfriend insisted) & then I had to celebrate my momma on Sunday. She lives an hour away from me, so with all the driving and family time, I was exhausted all of Monday. By the way, happy belated Mother's Day to all my momma readers. I hope you got all the love & attention you deserve :)**

 **Beside You is by Marianas Trench, my new obsession.**

 **To SERLee: I'm glad as always that you liked the chapter. The whole Vegeta thing was supposed to be revealed later in the story, but I thought it would fit better in the last chapter. I teared up a bit writing that cemetery scene. I'm so sorry to hear about your sister, hon. It must be hard to lose a sibling. I have four brothers & a sister & I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose one of them. Losing a cousin was difficult, losing a sibling must be similar, if not worse. **

**To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I'm sorry to hear about your scumbag ex. Some men are dicks, that's for sure. I'm lucky to have met a good one. Speaking of my boyfriend, his own dad abandoned him before he was even born. He's never met him & it makes me sad for him. It sounds like you & your son are better off without your ex. Anyway, Pan won't tell Goku anything for awhile, but she will find out why Trunks did what he did this chapter. I hope you like it :)**

 **To lordshuvra: Thank you for reading my other story, hon. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm on Facebook as Chelsea DeMelo Johnson. Just type . & you'll find me :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: Poor Pan, right? It might take her awhile to completely trust Trunks again. Thanks for the review, hon :)**

 **Chapter Ten: You Got A Friend In Me**

Bright sunlight streaming through her bedroom window woke Pan the next morning. She groaned and turned her back on the blinding light, closing her eyes again and willing sleep to return. The day's previous events came to her instead, though, causing her to sit upright in bed. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she remembered her date with Paul, what happened in the bathroom with Trunks, and her visit to the cemetery, where she had poured her heart out to her late mother and then was comforted by the purple-haired Saiyan. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but not because of the bathroom incident. Pan was humiliated to be caught crying and even more so to be caught by Trunks. She hated to be seen giving into her self-pity; she was stronger than that.

Growing up, she always hated to cry, especially in front of people. It was excusable when she was small and she would hurt herself while playing or during training- she remembered that Trunks was always the one to pick her back up and wipe away her tears- but around seven or eight, she decided she was too strong for that. She wanted to be like her brothers and Trunks who never cried. Her dad used to call her his "tough little girl" and that made her even more determined to not shed a tear; she didn't want him or anyone else to think she wasn't. There were exceptions of course, like when her mom died- how could she not shed a tear for her deceased mother?- and when her father remarried. Trunks was witness to both those events and she hated looking so weak in front of the boy who tormented her constantly. Whenever he hurt her, Pan made sure not to let him see that he had gotten to her. She would always wait until she was safe at home and then cry in her mother's comforting arms.

Now Trunks had seen her cry again, but she wasn't embarrassed because she didn't want to look weak in front of the boy she hated; she was embarrassed because she didn't want to look weak in front of the boy she loved and because she didn't know if he had heard what she had said last night. Pan had said out loud that she was in love with her stepbrother and she prayed that he had arrived after her candid confession.

Groaning, Pan forced herself to get out of bed and walk across the hall to the bathroom located there. The door was wide open, letting her know that it was unoccupied. Closing the door and turning the light on, Pan observed her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Her long black hair was mussed and her eyes were unsurprisingly red and puffy from crying. Sighing to herself, she grabbed a brush from one of the drawers beneath the sink and untangled the bird's nest that was her hair. Then she turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would reduce some of the swelling around her eyes.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Pan started to make her way to the door when her reflection in the mirror caught her attention again. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed it before. Chalking it up to her previously half-asleep state, Pan eyed the large shirt she was wearing. It was the shirt she always wore to bed, so it wasn't unusual that she was in it. What was strange was that she didn't remember putting it on last night. Broken images of Trunks carrying her up the stairs and into her bedroom entered her mind. There were bits and pieces missing in her memory, meaning she must've been asleep or too tired to recall them. Had Trunks undressed her? Or did she do it in the middle of the night without realizing? She wasn't prone to sleepwalking, but she couldn't be sure that she didn't.

Pan shook her head as if the gesture would somehow shake her missing memories free and then made her way to the bathroom door again. There was only one person who could solve this mystery and she was going to find him. Fortunately for her, she didn't have to search too long or go that far. Opening the door and walking back out into the hallway, Pan was surprised to come face-to-face with the very person she was so determined to find: Trunks.

"Good morning, Panny," he greeted her sincerely. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she deadpanned.

Trunks chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You were pretty out of it last night. I think you even drooled on my car seat."

Pan glared at him. "I do not drool, Trunks."

"Tell that to my car seat," he laughed again.

Pan tried to be mad at him and his teasing, but she could tell that it was good-natured. He wasn't trying to hurt her this time; it was a jovial sort of teasing, reminiscent of when they were younger. She just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Listen, I need to ask you something." He didn't say anything, so she continued. "Do you know how I ended up in this." She pointed at her shirt and eyed him, ready to kick him in the balls if he was indeed responsible for her wardrobe change.

"Your shirt?" he inquired and she nodded, annoyed because she knew that he knew exactly what she was pointing at. "Why I put that on you of course." The innocent smile on his face told her that he saw nothing wrong with that, when in actuality, there was so much wrong with it.

"You undressed me?" Pan hissed, the smile falling from Trunks' face at her tone.

"Yeah," the older Saiyan answered. "You were too tired and-"

"Are you fucking insane?" she interrupted.

"I didn't see anything important," he said in his defense. "I left your underwear and bra on. I'm not a pervert, Pan."

"You could've fooled me." The urge to kick him in his most tender area was making her foot shake. "I don't care what the situation is, I don't want you to ever undress me, even if I'm dead. I forbid you from removing one article of clothing from my body, asleep or not. Got it, Brief?"

A wide smirk formed on Trunks' face as he listened to her rant. "So, what I'm hearing is that you never want me to take off your clothes, no matter the circumstances?"

"Wow. Forget Capsule Corp, Trunks. You should be the president of repeating what people say. You're great at it. You totally nailed exactly what I just fucking said. That must be why they pay you the big bucks, President Parrot," Pan snarled.

He put up in his hands in mock defense. "Just making sure that's exactly what I heard." He started taking slow, calculated steps toward her, forcing Pan to retreat backward until her back hit the hallway wall. She eyed him as he closed the distance between them, wondering what he was planning. They were out in the open, anyone could walk down this hall; surely he wouldn't do anything rash…right? When he was about a half a foot away, he stopped. "I find it interesting that you are so against me taking off your clothes when just last night at the restaurant, I was _under_ them."

This time, Pan did blush because of what happened at the restaurant. "That's not the same thing," she muttered, irritated and embarrassed.

"It kind of is," he disagreed. "I'm sure that you would've let me take them off if I tried."

"Not a chance," she told him.

He placed his arms on either side of her head, caging her in, and leaned in closer, his lips dangerously close to hers. Nodding at the door to the left of her, he said, "There's a bathroom right there; want to reenact last night and prove me wrong?"

Pan put her hands on Trunks' chest and pushed him away, the latter laughing as she did so. "I think you _are_ insane, Trunks. You can't say or do stuff like that when we're somewhere where anyone could walk by and overhear you or see us."

"But I can say and do stuff like that when we're behind closed doors?" He raised an eyebrow. "Noted."

"No, Trunks, you can't do anything then, either," she said, frustrated. "Do you not understand that we're stepbrother and stepsister? After two months, you'd think it would've sunk in by now."

The amusement disappeared from his face, seriousness taking its place. "I understand perfectly, but that doesn't mean I like it."

"You don't have to like it," Pan stated, "you just have to accept it and deal with it."

"I don't understand you, Pan," he said, his sudden anger evident in his voice. "You wanted me when I kissed you at the wedding, I could tell; but I made a mistake and pushed you away. Then I finally admit I want you, too, and you push _me_ away. You accuse me of being hot and cold, but what do you call what you're doing? It sure seems like the same damn thing to me."

"I call it being a good daughter," she seethed.

Trunks gaped at her. "Are you so afraid of being anything less than perfect in your dad's eyes that you'd sacrifice your own happiness? You can be so fucking ridiculous sometimes, Pan."

"So you think that you would make me happy? You know what they say about assumptions, Trunks; when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. Mostly you, though. I don't know why you think that you would make me happy. You're not doing a very good job so far."

The lavender-haired boy sighed. "I know. I don't want to fight, Pan. I just don't understand how you could so easily dismiss what we might have before even giving it a chance."

Pan slumped against the wall, exhaustion overtaking her, even though she had gotten a full night's sleep. "Trunks, maybe we should work on being friends again first. I need to learn to trust you again. Once I do, then we'll talk about this."

Trunks' eyes fell to the floor, but Pan thought she saw the same pain in them that she saw last night before they did. "That's reasonable. I guess I should explain to you why I started mistreating you in the first place four years ago. Maybe that'll help you trust me again."

"Maybe," she agreed.

"Do you mind having this conversation in my room?" he asked.

She nodded. "Sure. It's not smart to have it out here anyway."

Trunks led the way to his bedroom, two doors down from hers. When she entered, she experienced an instant feeling of nostalgia. His room was the same as it had always been: a full size bed sat in the furthest right corner, covered in black sheets with a gray and black checkered pattern comforter and pillows; a computer desk sat in the opposite corner, a couple of books neatly stacked on top; his closet was located directly to the right of the door and a large window lay in between his bed and desk. It was an extremely plain room, it always had been. Trunks didn't have any personal knick knacks lying around; no posters or pictures, no old concert or movie ticket stubs, there wasn't even a television or stereo. His room was always super clean, too. You'd expect a normal guy to have clothes strewn everywhere, but not Trunks. It was like he had obsessive compulsive disorder, even though Pan knew he really didn't.

Moving to his bed, Trunks sat down and patted the space next to him, inviting Pan to join him. "I guess the place to start would be the day you came over after being grounded for a month. Do you remember that day?"

"You mean the day you told me you didn't want to deal with me anymore? The day you said that you wanted to spend everyday without me and to leave you the fuck alone?" Unbidden tears filled her eyes as she recalled that day. She refused to let them fall, though. "Of course I remember. That was probably the worst day of my life up until the day my mom passed away."

"Yeah," Trunks said, shame clear in his voice and written all over his face, "that day. It wasn't true, Pan, what I said. None of it."

"Then why'd you say it, asshole?" she asked angrily.

Pink colored his cheeks and he shifted on the bed uncomfortably. "You were…different, Panny."

"Different? What do you mean?"

"You looked so grown up when I saw you in my kitchen. I always thought of you as a kid sister, you know? Annoying, but still cute and lovable. That day, though…I saw you as something different that day."

"What'd you see me as?" Pan inquired curiously. She suspected what the answer might be, but she needed to hear him say it.

"A woman," he told her. "A fucking gorgeous woman. You were like a whole new person. You definitely weren't the little girl I was used to seeing. You were beautiful and I noticed. My body noticed, too." The pink on his cheeks darkened to an almost reddish color. "God, I was so disgusted with myself. You were still technically a child and there I was, a full grown man, drooling over you. I tried to think of you as the same old Pan, but I couldn't. When we went to train and I was helping you with your fighting stance, I realized it was impossible. Being so close to you, touching you, was too much."

"So you pushed me away," Pan stated, finally understanding his motive, well mostly. "You couldn't have figured out another way, though? Any other way?"

"I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Over the years, I realized I could have done things differently, but the damage was already done. I also realized over the years, that my attraction to you was more than physical. It's hard to pinpoint when it happened, but I developed feelings that weren't brotherly, not even a little bit. They could have existed since before you were fourteen. Regardless of when it happened, it complicated things."

"Feelings are easy to hide," Pan whispered, wondering how deep his feelings for her were. "You could've hid them and still been my friend."

"No, I couldn't have," Trunks disagreed. "Feelings can be easy to hide, but not always. If I managed to hide what I felt, there was still no way that I could have hidden what you did to my body and that's what it really came down to. My body might've ended up doing something to you that my mind would've regretted and I couldn't risk that."

"You were afraid you would have forced yourself on me?" she asked incredulously. "You would never have done something like that. That's not the kind of person you are."

"Better safe than sorry," he commented lamely. "You were fourteen, I was twenty. I already felt dirty thinking about you the way I did and I didn't trust my body. I wasn't proud of how I felt at the time, Pan, and I'm not proud of how I reacted to it."

"It doesn't seem like your feelings bother you now," Pan said. "What changed your mind?"

"You did." He smiled at her. "You made my dumbass see that the six year difference in our ages wasn't a big deal anymore. When you said that in the closet, I couldn't resist any longer. That was the only excuse I had for staying away from you and you took it away. I felt so free the first time I kissed you, the weight on my shoulders gone. I didn't have to pretend anymore. That was before I remembered that we had a new problem, though: our parents had just gotten married. I almost died when I realized I still couldn't have you, especially after getting a taste of what I'd be missing. It was like putting a glass of water in front of a thirsty man, but telling him he couldn't drink it; it was maddening."

"Me being the glass of water in that scenario?" Pan asked him with a small smile.

"I guess," he chuckled. "You know I've never been good at analogies."

"Must be hard for Trunks Brief to admit he isn't good at something," Pan laughed.

"Hardest thing I've ever done." They laughed together for a moment before Trunks' face became serious again. "Pretending I hated you was the hardest thing I had ever done, Pan. There were so many times I wanted to say 'fuck it' and tell you everything, but you were still so young, too young. I thought what I was doing was for your own good."

"In a way, I guess it was." Trunks' eyes widened in surprise. "You were trying to protect me," Pan clarified, "which I can't really fault you for. The thing about the way you went about it, though, is that it completely obliterated the trust I had for you."

He hung his head. "I know and I'm sorry. Do you think I'll ever regain that trust?"

"Maybe one day," she told him. "Explaining everything to me certainly helps, but you're right: the damage has already been done. Even when you said you wanted me in the bathroom, I couldn't be sure it wasn't just another joke at my expense."

"It wasn't," Trunks insisted, his eyes urging her to believe him.

"I know that now. Like I said before, though, we should try to be friends again and re-establish that lost trust."

"But do you forgive me at least a little bit for what I did?" He stared at her with hopeful eyes.

Pan stood up and gave him a small smile. "A little bit," she assured him. "Perhaps over time, I'll be able to forgive you completely."

Trunks nodded. He didn't look entirely satisfied with her answer, but that was all Pan could offer him at the moment. She understood his reasons for pushing her away, although she was sure that he could've handled his feelings differently. Making her hate him to ensure he didn't hurt her was very altruistic of him, but it also seemed selfish of him, too. He couldn't deal with his own issues, so he made her suffer along with him because that was a better option to him than admitting he felt something for a girl six years his junior. She understood it, but there was still some residual anger leftover from all the pain he caused her and it made it hard for her to forgive him completely.

Stopping in the middle of his room on her way out, Pan turned back around to ask Trunks something that had been bothering her since she woke up. "Hey, Trunks, last night when you found me in the cemetery, did you happen to hear anything I told my mom?"

He shook his head. "Nope. When I got there, you weren't talking at all, just crying." Pan breathed a sigh of relief despite the embarrassment she still felt about him seeing her so vulnerable. "Why? Did I miss anything good?"

"Not at all," she lied, turning back to the door.

Trunks stood up as well and walked her to his bedroom door. "So," he started, "friends?" He held out his hand for her to shake as if they were sealing a business deal.

"Friends," Pan agreed. She took his hand and shook it, trying to ignore the spark his touch sent through her body. _Huh, maybe this friend thing is going to be harder than I thought._

 **Author's Note:**

There it is. Again, sorry it was a day late. Like I always say, though, better late than never. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading!

-Chels xoxo


	11. Better Days

**Hey guys! Sorry again about my extreme tardiness. Here it is, though. It's a bit of a filler chapter. There is a small time jump. Hope y'all like it :)**

 **You've Got A Friend In Me is by Randy Newman.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I agree; Pan shouldn't be angry at Trunks for pushing her away, but the pain that he caused her by doing that won't let her forgive him completely just yet. She will, though, I promise. I'm glad you mentioned the rest of the family. There's a family dinner coming up in the next chapter. It would've been in this one, but I didn't have time to include it.**

 **To SERLee: Thanks for another great review, hon. I'm happy that the games are over, too, & now they can finally move forward. The trust thing is an issue, though, & you're right, it won't be easy for Trunks to get it back. Let's hope he can do it ;)**

 **To Lordshuvra: I accepted your friend request, although you probably already know that. Thanks for the review and for wanting to be my friend lol :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Yup, everything is settled & they can move forward now. It's going to be hard to fight their feelings for each other, that's for sure. Lol. I can't believe you like Marianas Trench, too! You're the first person I met who does. I love them. I listen to them all the time, much to the annoyance of my boyfriend. Lol. Thanks for the review, hon :)**

 **To GVLuver: Thank you for another review! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Progress has indeed been made & the healing can begin :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I probably would've slapped them, too. Lol. I can't say I personally know what they're going through, though. The Friday the 13** **th** **update was a total coincidence. I posted last chapter around two or three in the morning, but I still thought it was Thursday. Lol.**

 **To Majin Hezaa: Thanks, girl! I didn't know you were reading this story. I appreciate the support :) You're right: you can't just be friends with someone you're in love with ;)**

 **Chapter Eleven: Better Days**

 **Pan's POV**

 _ **One Month Later- August**_

It had been a few weeks since Trunks' confession and things were finally starting to look up for Pan. The day after she rekindled her friendship with Trunks, she ended her twisted relationship with Paul. They met at a coffee shop near Capsule Corp and that's where she broke the news to him. He tried to tell her that they could make a long distance relationship work, but she made him see that they had no real future together. She was semi-honest, telling him that she cared about him, but she wasn't in love with him and she didn't want to keep him from finding someone who would truly love him and treat him like he deserved. Pan knew that Paul didn't love her either, but she could tell from their short conversation that he would miss her, just like she would miss him while he was away at school in New York.

She decided not to admit to him that she only went out with him in the first place to distract herself from the grief she felt over losing her mom and her thoughts of Trunks because that meant telling him about her feelings for the latter and that wasn't an option. When they parted ways that day, Pan felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The guilt she felt for using Paul gnawed at her constantly for two months and she was happy that it was over.

The guilt she felt for lying to her dad was a different matter. He had cornered her in the kitchen the day she broke up with Paul, obvious worry on his face. He demanded she tell him what she had been so upset about and instead of being truthful, Pan lied again and said it was because she broke up with Paul. The shame and guilt she already felt grew when he tried to comfort her, but she wasn't ready or willing to tell him the truth yet; she probably never would be.

True to his word, Trunks had once again become the friend she had missed for so long. They grew closer and closer as the days passed, acquainting themselves with the people they had become over the past four years. They had both changed, for better and for worse, but deep down, they were still the same. Pan was comforted by that fact. She felt the walls she had built to protect her heart crumbling fast, along with her doubt and mistrust. Unfortunately, she also felt her love for the purple-headed boy growing stronger with each piece of the wall that fell and Pan was terrified of where that might lead. She did what she did best, though, and buried those dangerous feelings, certain that it was the best choice for everyone.

.

The raven-haired girl ignored her feelings, choosing instead to just enjoy the company of her old friend without the complications that her love for him would create. They were almost always together. At work, Trunks would visit Pan at her desk every chance he got, joking around with her and sometimes even bringing her lunch. Every night after work, they would pick up food on their way home or have something delivered to the house and then settle down in front of the large television in Pan's room, a movie on the screen. Sometimes Bulla would join them. She was shocked speechless when she had found out that Pan and Trunks were friends again a few days after it had happened. Hanging out in her room with her two oldest friends while a movie played on TV, filled Pan with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. A part of her expected her mom to appear in her doorway, yelling at the small group to be quiet or to come down for dinner. It never happened, though, and she discovered that that didn't make her as sad as it would have before she rekindled her friendship with Trunks. He eased the pain in her heart more than Paul ever had.

When they weren't at work or in her room watching movies and "making up for lost time" as Trunks put it, they would train in the gravity room, however they never fought each other. Trunks insisted it was better that way. Thinking back on the story he had told her, the events that had led him to distance himself from her years ago, Pan had to agree. Instead they trained with the robots that were specifically designed for a Saiyan assault until she and Trunks were tired, sweaty messes. Sometimes she would catch him staring at her while she trained, a dozen emotions swimming in the crystal blue of his eyes. He would always glance away, though, before Pan could decipher them all.

It didn't take long for their parents to figure out that the war between the two Saiyans was finally over. Suffice it to say, their parents were relieved that their children had made up. Bulma had had a field day when she found out.

"I just knew you two would put aside your differences one day, I just knew it. You two are so equally stubborn. You always had your little fights growing up, but you always made up. This is like all those other times before, it just took a little longer for the forgiving part. I don't even know what you two were fighting about in the first place. Something childish I'm sure. I'm glad it's over, though."

Pan had had to use every ounce of will power she had not to roll her eyes at her stepmother. It annoyed her that she downplayed their four-year long fight as childish when it was anything but. Trunks had pushed Pan away to keep her safe, something that the young woman was appreciating more and more every day. What he had done was difficult for him, too, and it was becoming harder and harder for Pan to stay angry at him for what he had done. When she really thought about it, the choice he had made was the best one and even though it broke her heart, it most likely saved her more pain than it had caused.

Before Pan knew it, a month had passed in a blur of countless movies, training sessions, and cheesy jokes courtesy of Trunks Brief. When Pan woke up that Sunday morning, she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. She was looking forward to spending the brand new day with Trunks and Bulla. Her smile quickly faded, though, when she realized what day it was and what it would bring; it was her dad's and stepmother's three month wedding anniversary and Bulma insisted they all go out to dinner to celebrate. It was a day she had been dreading since she was told about it a week ago. The idea of pretending to be one big happy family made Pan sick to her stomach.

Reluctantly, Pan forced herself out of bed, the excited energy she felt only a moment ago gone and replaced with a lethargic feeling. A few hours later, she was trapped in Bulla's room getting ready for dinner. As was the norm for any event involving make up and a dress, her best friend was helping her get ready. After an hour of preening and mild pain, Bulla stepped back and appraised her work.

"Perfect as usual," she said proudly. "I should really do this for a living."

Stepping in front of the floor length mirror the blue-haired girl kept in the corner of her room, Pan stared at her reflection, her mouth falling open at the sight in front of her. Bulla had truly outdone herself; the Grecian style strapless knee length black dress her friend made her wear looked gorgeous on Pan's small frame. The stretchy gold wrap belt wrapped around her ribs, under her bust, accentuating her small breasts. A pair of strappy gold sandals completed the outfit. Her hair was in an elegant bun atop her head with stray curls falling around her face and her make up consisted only of eye liner, mascara and lip gloss. She managed to look like a Greek goddess without looking like she was on her way to a Halloween party.

"Wow, Bee," Pan gasped. "Just…wow."

"I know," Bulla beamed, "I'm awesome."

Pan laughed. "You really are. Thanks for the help. Why did you pick this dress, though? It's beautiful, but how'd you know I'd like it?"

"I've had that thing in my closet forever," she told her. "I bought it ages ago, but it doesn't fit me right. My boobs are a little too big for it."

"Why does it sound like you're calling me small chested?" Pan pretended to glare at her best friend.

"Because I am," Bulla said with a cheeky grin.

Pan stuck her tongue out at her and laughed. "Say what you want, but you can't deny that me and my boobs look great in this dress."

"I'm not denying it," she stated. "I'm sure my brother will love it."

Spinning around so fast she almost fell, Pan stared wide eyed at the blue-haired girl sitting on the bed. "What are you talking about?" She tried to keep her voice even, but it trembled slightly, panic coursing through her. _Oh, God. Did she see something? Does she know? Did she tell our parents?_

"Please, Panny, do you really think I haven't noticed the way you two stare at each other?" Bulla asked, sounding proud of her perceptiveness.

"I really don't know what you mean," Pan lied, turning around again so Bulla couldn't see her guilty face.

"Then let me spell it out for you, Pan: you're in love with Trunks and he's in love with you," she stated smugly. "I've seen how you look at my brother and how he looks at you, how he's always looked at you. The joy on his face when you would come over, the way his eyes lit up when he saw you, even when you two stopped being friends…it was so obvious."

"You're wrong," Pan whispered.

"Not about this," Bulla disagreed. "I'm your best friend, Panny; you don't have to lie to me."

The black-haired girl was quiet for a long moment. Then she asked quietly, "Are you going to tell my dad?"

"Of course not." She heard her friend stand up and walk toward her. Bulla stepped in front of Pan and put her hands on her shoulders, her soft eyes meeting Pan's anxious dark ones. "I would never do that to you. It's your secret to tell. However, I do think that you should tell our parents. It's the right thing to do, for everyone."

Pan shook her head vehemently. "I can't."

Bulla sighed. "Pan-"

"There's nothing to tell anyway, Bee. Trunks and I are just friends," she insisted.

"But you love each other, don't you?"

"I…I…

"Don't you dare lie to me, Pan Son," Bulla warned.

Closing her eyes, Pan sighed in defeat. "Fine, yes," Pan admitted. "I love him, but the feeling isn't mutual. I don't think it is anyway."

"Oh, it's mutual," the azure-headed Saiyan said.

Pan's eyes popped open. "What makes you think that?"

"I already told you. I've seen the way he looks at you. He'll stare at you for minutes at a time when he thinks no one is looking and he always has this goofy smile on his face when he does. Sometimes he looks sad, though. Like he's a kid looking at a toy his parents said he couldn't have; but even then, I could see the love in his eyes."

"I know he cares about me and that he finds me attractive- he's said as much- but he hasn't said he loves me," Pan told her.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't," her friend commented.

"It doesn't matter," she snapped. "Nothing's going to happen between us, it can't."

"Because our parents are married to each other?" inquired Bulla. Pan nodded once. "That means nothing, Panny. There's no law saying you can't be together. Talk to your dad. I'm sure him and my mom would understand."

"No," Pan said harshly. She took a deep breath and continued in a gentler tone. "Please, Bulla; promise me you won't say anything."

Bulla stared at Pan for a few agonizing seconds, the latter's future in her hands. Finally she said, "I already told you that it's your secret, your decision. I won't say a word. You're delusional, though, if you think there's nothing between you and Trunks. Don't torture yourselves by staying away from each other. There's no point. You two will end up together regardless of what you do. If it makes you feel better, I'm okay with it." She smiled at Pan before pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks, Bee," Pan whispered. "I appreciate it, but how about we focus on finishing getting ready for this dinner?" Nodding, Bulla pulled away and went to change into her red evening dress, leaving Pan to think about what her friend had said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Trunks' POV**

Trunks stood at the bottom of the stairs with Goku, Gohan, and Goten, while they waited for the women to join them so they could leave for the restaurant. He was dressed in a charcoal gray suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a black tie. Fidgeting beside him, his stepdad, Goku, looked extremely uncomfortable in a black suit and tie. Next to the older Saiyan, Gohan stood, wearing a dark blue suit with a red tie and next to him was Goten with a light gray suit with no tie. They had all managed to get ready within half an hour, but it seemed the ladies required a lot more time than them.

While they waited, he couldn't help but think back on the past month. He spent every free moment he had with Pan, telling her he was making up for the time they had lost. In actuality, he just wanted to be near her as much as possible. His sister would join them sometimes, interrupting his alone time with her. Her presence was a blessing in disguise, though. The more time he spent with Pan, the harder it was to be just her friend; but he resisted his urges. If being her friend was the only way Trunks could be with her, then he would have to deal with it and try his damnedest to be happy and not complain.

Trunks was just beginning to wonder why it took women so long to get ready when he heard the sound of multiple heeled shoes descending the staircase. His mouth fell open when he looked up, his blue eyes landing on the vision that was Pan. He felt his throat tighten slightly, forcing him to loosen the tie around his neck. Trunks couldn't remember ever seeing something so beautiful. Not even at the wedding had she looked so gorgeous, so... sexy. Staring at her, he had to concentrate very hard to keep his thoughts from manifesting below his belt- the loose dress pants he wore definitely would not have been able to hide the evidence of his desire.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Pan stopped in front of him and smiled shyly. "Hey," she greeted quietly.

"Yeah, um, hi," he stammered, all of his focus and brain power currently somewhere else. Glancing around, trying to avoid looking at Pan, Trunks' eyes fell on his sister, who was staring at them and smirking. "What?" he asked her.

"Oh, nothing, big brother," Bulla said, still smiling. "I just think tonight is going to be awfully interesting." She winked at Pan, who blushed slightly, the whole exchange confusing Trunks.

Pan and Trunks stood there awkwardly, both at a loss for words, until his mother, dressed in a yellow cocktail dress with a high collar, spoke up. "Everyone ready to go? We have a reservation at seven."

Everyone nodded and began shuffling toward the front door. Trunks let Pan walk ahead of him, his hand grazing her lower back as she passed, the light contact sending electricity throughout his body. She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes darker than usual and full of something that Trunks was quite familiar with. Their gazes locked for seconds that felt like hours, before Pan turned back around and hurried away. Swallowing hard, Trunks followed, wondering how the hell he was going to get through this dinner without certain body parts turning blue.

 **Author's Note:**

Not my best chapter, but I think it came out okay considering I was rushing. Also, I'm sorry it's short. Let me know what you guys think & have a safe & happy Memorial Day!

-Chels xoxo


	12. I Forgive You

**Hi everyone! I don't have much to say before you read the chapter. Just that I hope y'all like it :)**

 **To SERLee: Bulla is certainly a perceptive one. She actually suspected that Trunks & Pan had a thing for each other way before they became friends again. Hanging out with them further proved her theory. Thanks as always for the review, doll! :)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Bulla is right, but Pan's too scared of what might happen to listen to reason. There will be some drama at the dinner. No one will find out about Trunks & Pan…yet ;)**

 **To GVLuver: I know right? Whatever Goku & Bulma's reaction might be, at least Pan will have that weight off her chest & she can stop worrying about it. I'm sorry you had to go through it, but I'm glad you handled it like a champ :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: You're so sweet. You don't need to worry about me. I'm not going anywhere…at least I hope not *** **knock on wood** *** ;) Thanks for the review!**

 **To Lordshuvra: I know it was short; I'm sorry, hon. At least I got something out for you guys. It was either that or nothing. I'm glad you still liked it :)**

 **Chapter Twelve: I Forgive You**

 **Trunks' POV**

Over priced food, small portions, snooty staff- the restaurant his mother had chosen for their family dinner was the epitome of upper class and Trunks hated it. The chic ambiance of the place and French cuisine with complicated and confusing names was something he wasn't used to. He may have had access to more money than he'd ever need, but he would've been happy with a burger and fries from any fast food chain. The lavender-haired Saiyan preferred to stay away from any restaurant with a dress code. Yes, this was a place he would definitely avoid if he had the choice. His mother on the other hand…

She decided to rent out a whole room for the event, which Trunks found to be a bit over the top for a three month anniversary dinner with only seven people. The only thing that redeemed the fancy establishment was the delicious- and of course expensive- red wine his mom had ordered when they first sat down at their private table. Well, that and Pan, of course. He actually found that he was grateful for the "no shorts and flip flops" rule every time he looked at her. She sat between him and Gohan and Trunks couldn't stop himself from repeatedly turning away from the menu in his hands to sneak a peek at her.

During his fourth or fifth sneaky glance, he saw that Pan's brow was furrowed in confusion as she tried to read the gibberish that was the menu. He couldn't help but laugh at her expression because it was exactly how he felt, too.

Glaring at him, Pan growled, "Shut it, Brief. I'm sorry I can't read or speak rich person like you. You want to help a poor girl decipher your language instead of laughing like a douchebag?"

"Pan!" his mother snapped. Bulma narrowed her eyes at her step daughter. "Watch your language, young lady. This place requires a certain etiquette." Pan rolled her eyes while the bluenette turned her attention to her son. "Trunks stop laughing so loudly. This isn't the place for that kind of raucous behavior."

"It's a private room, Mom," he reminded her.

"That's no excuse, Trunks. Try to keep the noise to a minimum."

"So I shouldn't have any fun at all?" Trunks inquired sarcastically. "Got it."

His mother just ignored him, instead turning back to her own menu. Trunks shook his head at her and looked at Pan. "Having a hard time figuring this shit out?" he asked her in a low voice so his mom wouldn't hear.

"Obviously," Pan answered. "I don't even think these are real words."

Trunks chuckled again. "It's French. Don't worry; I don't understand most of it, either. I _do_ know that you should definitely not order escargot."

Laughing, Pan nodded. "I think I know enough not to order snails, too, Trunks. Thanks, though."

"Well then, smarty pants, did you know that French fries is pommes frites in French? Steak frites is my go-to choice when I'm forced to eat at one of these places. It's just steak and fries."

"I didn't know any of that actually," she told him. "My knowledge of anything France related is limited."

"That's not true," he disagreed. "I know of one French thing that you're _really_ knowledgable of." Trunks' eyes fell on Pan's full lips as he remembered the few times he tasted them and explored her mouth. He knew Pan remembered as well because she averted her gaze and blushed.

He was forced to tear his eyes away Pan when he heard his mom's voice addressing him from across the table. "Stop staring at your sister, Trunks dear, and help her figure out what to eat, please." She smiled at him sweetly, obliviously to what part of Pan he had been looking at.

"Yeah, Trunks," Bulla chimed in, "help Pan. I'm sure she wants you…to help her." Her face remained emotionless as she spoke, but Trunks noticed a teasing twinkle in her eyes. _What is up with her?_ he thought. _She's acting especially weird tonight._

Pan cleared her throat, interrupting his musings and drawing his attention back to her beautiful face. "You know, it's a funny thing about French fries," she started, obviously trying to change the subject. "Did you know they aren't even a French creation? They're Belgium allegedly. They supposedly were the first to fry potatoes and-"

Her nervous ramblings were cut off suddenly by the arrival of their waiter. Trunks laughed softly at her as he focused on the short man with the obviously fake accent who was staring at him, ready to take his order.

"What would you like, Monsieur?" he asked Trunks.

"Steak frites, s'il vous plait." His favorite French dish and the word for please was all the French Trunks had managed to learn.

"And for you, Mademoiselle?"

When the waiter turned to Pan for her order, she panicked. Her wide eyes hastily scanned the menu one last time before she finally stuttered out, "C-coq au vin? Uh, did I pronounce that right?"

"Not quite, but I know what you mean," he said. Everyone, excluding his mother, had difficulty pronouncing the French words. When the waiter had finished writing down their order, he excused himself. "Je vous remercie. Your meal will be ready soon."

He walked away, the pomposity rolling off of him in waves. When he was out of sight, Trunks turned back to Pan. "Do you even know what you ordered, Panny?"

"Not a clue," she groaned. "God, I hope it's nothing gross."

"I don't know, Panny," Goten said with a smirk. He was sitting beside Trunks and had obviously overheard her. "You could've ordered the pig guts or maybe even the frog legs. Yummy." He rubbed his stomach and licked his lips jokingly for emphasis.

Pan visibly paled. "They don't actually serve that kind of stuff…do they?"

"They do," Gohan told her. "The French use almost every part of an animal: livers, intestines, legs, of course, usually from frogs and ducks."

It looked like Pan was going to throw up after her brother had enlightened her on French cuisine. "Ew, just ew. I know you're super smart, Gohan, but I really wish you hadn't told me all that."

"Oh, c'mon, little sister; where's your sense of adventure?" Goten teased her. "Don't you want to try new things?"

"Not if it means I have to ingest pig guts," she countered.

"The French are culinary geniuses, Panny. I'm sure whatever you got will be just fine," Gohan said, trying to reassure his sister.

"Gohan's right, sweetie." Goku smiled at her. "I bet everything here is great."

"That's easy for you to say, Papa," Pan grumbled. "You'll eat anything." Everyone at the table erupted into laughter at her true statement, even his mother.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Pan's POV**

Pan was relieved to discover that _coq au vin_ was just chicken, something she definitely liked. The food was delicious, though she did wish the portions were larger. Judging by the looks on the men's faces, she knew they would've agreed with her. They had all ordered steak and fries, but it wasn't enough to fill their Saiyan stomachs. If they were like her- and she knew they were- they were already planning to order a pizza or something when they got home. Until then, however…

"How about dessert?" Pan suggested.

"Sounds good," Gohan said, trying to look unenthusiastic about the prospect of more food, but failing miserably.

"Well, if you insist," Goten smirked.

"I could go for something sweet." Trunks smiled at her and Pan got the feeling that he wasn't just talking about food.

She ignored his double entendre and perused the dessert menu the waiter had left for them after collecting their dirty plates. Several eclairs and crème brûlée were ordered for their table and the group happily devoured it all when it arrived. The crème brûlée instantly became Pan's favorite part of the meal, the creamy dessert practically melting in her mouth. Trunks favored the eclairs, eating them so fast, he got cream on the side of his mouth and even somehow on his cheek.

Pan laughed at the mess he had made and grabbed her napkin, handing it to him. "Geez, Trunks. You ate that in like two seconds. Did you even taste it?"

"Of course I did," he said. He took the cloth, wiping at his face. "And it was fucking delicious."

"I bet," she giggled. "Try not to make such a mess next time, though, yeah?"

"No promises, Panny," Trunks told her. "Maybe I made a mess on purpose. Maybe I wanted to save a little food for later."

Rolling her eyes, Pan scoffed. "Yeah right, Brief. Saiyans don't believe in saving food."

"You're right," he agreed. "I'm just a slob."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Trunks poked her in the side and Pan stuck her tongue out at him, both Saiyans laughing. Their laughter was cut off, though, when Bulma clinked the side of her wine glass with her dessert fork. They looked at her as she stood and smiled down at them.

"It warms my heart to see our family together like this, laughing and smiling and enjoying each other's company. I couldn't ask for anything more." Pan had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at her stepmother's speech. She couldn't control her response, however, to Bulma's next words. "The happiest day of my life was three months ago today when I married my best friend and our family was made whole. Goku became a wonderful father to my children and I hope that I have been a good mother to all of you."

Slamming her fist on the table, Pan stood, too, and glared at Bulma. "You're not our mother," she hissed, " and you never will be."

"Panny, calm down." Her oldest brother grabbed her arm and tried to force her to sit back down, but Pan yanked her arm away.

"I will not calm down, Gohan!" she yelled at him. "Don't you care that she's trying to replace Mom!"

"Pan, I'm not-" Bulma started, but the angry Saiyan cut her off.

"I wasn't talking to you," Pan snarled. "I was talking to my brother, my actual family."

The blue-haired woman ignored her and spoke again. "Listen, please. I'm not trying to be ChiChi. I just wanted to express how happy I am that your family is now a part of my family."

"You're happy? So it's of no consequence to you that my mother had to die for you to be so goddamn happy? You're basically saying you're happy she's dead!" Tears began to well in Bulma's eyes as the younger girl yelled.

"That's enough, Pan," her father warned her, standing and putting his arm around his distraught wife.

"No, Papa. I refuse to pretend that we're one big happy family when we're not. I can't be happy when Mom is dead and I'm the only one who seems to care."

"Pan, we all miss her," Goku disagreed, "but eventually you have to move on."

"Yeah, eventually," she said. "Not a few months after she died; and you didn't just move on, you got fucking married. Did you even mourn her death before you started shacking up with another woman?"

"Enough," he said again, more sternly this time. "I'm sorry if we hurt you, honey, and I know you miss your mother, we all do, but she's gone now. Like it or not, Bulma is your mom now and you're not treating her with the respect she deserves."

The room fell silent. Pan continued to stand there and glare at her father. After a few moments of awkward silence, she said in a low voice, "You're the one with no respect. If you cared about her or us, you would've waited before you remarried. You may not have needed time to grieve, but your children did and you didn't allow us to do that as a family. You went and replaced Mom the first chance you got instead of helping us heal. I will always love you, but I hate you for being so damn selfish."

With that, Pan stormed out of the room, out of the restaurant, and into the warm summer night. She breathed in big lungfuls of the fresh air, trying to calm her racing heart and rampant anger. Angry tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. What she said in there may have been cruel, especially the things she said to Bulma, but she didn't regret them. Pan had had been biting her tongue for too long and she couldn't do it anymore. Hearing Bulma refer to herself as their mother was the last straw.

"You sure know how to make a boring family dinner interesting, Panny."

Spinning around, Pan saw Trunks standing a few feet away from her, looking completely gorgeous in his form fitting suit. When she first saw him in it, she temporarily forgot that they were supposed to be nothing more than friends and almost kissed him right then and there in front of both their parents. He was everything she had always wanted and Pan didn't know how she was going to continue being just his friend, if she even could. Bulla's words suddenly entered her mind as she stared at the purple-haired boy:

" _Don't torture yourselves by staying away from each other. There's no point. You two will end up together regardless of what you do."_

God, was she right? Were all Pan's efforts destined to be in vain? Instead of delving deeper into those questions, she shook her head and smiled humorlessly at Trunks. "I guess I ruined dinner, huh?"

"I wouldn't say you ruined it," Trunks said. "It isn't a party until someone cries, right?"

"That's how it seems," she chuckled softly. "I'm sorry I made your mom cry, but I'm glad I said what I did."

"Panny, you don't need to apologize," he told her. "I understand. You had every right to say all that. I'm sorry, though; I didn't realize you were hurting so much."

"Not so much lately since…well, it doesn't matter since when. Your mom's little speech just got to me." Pan gave him a small smile, hoping he wouldn't question what she said, or rather what she didn't say. She was never that lucky, though.

"Since when?" he asked her.

 _Shit._ "I said it doesn't matter," she stated, praying he'd drop the subject; he didn't.

"Tell me, Pan, please."

He smiled at her reassuringly, his blue eyes capturing her dark brown ones. She felt safe and vulnerable at the same time under his gaze. That combination made it almost impossible for her not to tell him the truth; so she did.

"Since you," she whispered.

"Since me?" he repeated, surprised.

Pan swallowed, embarrassed to be admitting something so mawkish to him. "Since we became friends again I don't feel so alone anymore, so sad."

A slow smile spread across the young man's handsome face. He stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm glad," he said, smiling down at her. They stood like that for only a moment before Trunks retracted his hand, cleared his throat and asked, "So, does that mean you forgive me? For what I did?"

She smiled back up at him and nodded. "I do," she told him. "I forgive you for everything, Trunks."

Trunks looked relieved at her words, his smile widening as he drew her in for a tight hug. "Good. Now how about we get out of here? I have something at home I want to show you."

"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" Pan asked, reluctantly pulling away from his hard body.

He shook his head. "Nah. I told your dad that I'd make sure you got home safely before I ran out after you."

Pan laughed. "You better not make a habit of running after me. I'm a big girl; I'll be okay."

"I don't know," he started with a smirk. "Good things tend to happen when I chase you down." He winked at her before walking away toward the curb.

The black-haired girl tilted her head to the side and stared at his retreating form. Her mind went back to that night in the women's restroom last month and she couldn't help but wonder if he was right. She laughed to herself and shook her head before she followed him. Pan didn't care what him or Bulla said; there was no way she'd do anything like that with him again.

 **Author's Note:**

How was it? I know Pan was a little harsh, but it's coming from a place of hurt. Nice little Trunks/Pan moment, though. What is Trunks going to show her when they get back to the house? Your curious minds will be sated next Wednesday/Thursday (I know, I'm evil). Thanks for your continued support, everyone. See you next week!

-Chels xoxo


	13. One Kiss From You

**I did it! I finally got the chapter done. It was a pain with everything going on right now. I had to do a bunch of shopping for Father's Day and four birthdays coming up next week.**

 **There's sexual content coming up. If you're uncomfortable with that sorta thing, don't read this chapter or just skip the naughty bits. I'd put a warning right before, but I feel like that disrupts the story. That being said, enjoy!**

 **I Forgive You is by Every Avenue.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Pan is right of course. None of them were allowed to grieve properly. I love Goku, but we all know he can be a selfish bastard sometimes. Trunks is trying to help. He's wanted to be there for her since her mom died. Oh, & I didn't mind your two part review. I've done the same thing before lol :)**

 **To SERLee: You're right, hon. Pan had every right to say what she did to Bulma. I have never been to a French restaurant either. I'm with Trunks; a simple burger is good enough for me. I actually had to do some research for that scene lol :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: Poor Pan, right? I'm with you. I love Trunks, but Pan is my favorite in this pairing. It kills me to put her through all this crap. I'm all about happy endings, though, & she definitely has one coming ;)**

 **To Lordshuvra: I'm glad you didn't think Pan was too harsh. I think what she said was completely justifiable myself. Have I told you how sweet you are? Your review made my day :) Don't worry; I would never forget about this story ;)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Bra & Pan are adorable as best friends. I'm really glad you liked their girl time. I felt like it was needed. Goku & Bulma's selfishness is frustrating & Pan's outburst was a long time coming. Gohan & Goten should've backed their sister up, but it was an awkward situation for everyone & I imagine that they didn't want to contribute to the scene that Pan was making. Regarding Bulma & Goku's quick nuptials, all will be revealed in time ;)**

 **I discovered Marianas Trench on Pandora; they came on my All Time Low station. I love All To Myself. Definitely one of my top favorites. I want to say my absolute favorite song by MT is maybe Fallout. It was the second song I heard by them (the acoustic version; I love both versions) & I instantly fell in love with it. Have you heard their newest album?**

 **I haven't watched Super yet, even though I'm dying to. I'm waiting for the English dub because Goku's voice bothers me in the sub. Have you seen it? How is it?**

 **To Kanassa: I agree with you, of course. Trunks should've told her everything from the beginning; but then we wouldn't have had a story lol I hope you're enjoying it. Thank you for the reviews :)**

 **To julietbriefs: Thanks for the review, hon. Ugh, I am not a supporter of Trunks & Mai, either. I will definitely try to do another Pan/Trunks story after I'm done with this one & the sequel to my other story that I have planned. Do you have any plot ideas?**

 **Chapter Thirteen: One Kiss From You**

 **Pan's POV**

Pan and Trunks arrived at Capsule Corp a few minutes after leaving the restaurant. They both decided to fly instead of using Trunks' capsule car, their Saiyan blood yearning for the freedom of soaring high in the sky, among the stars and the moon. It was always her favorite thing to do with him when she was young. Whenever she was mad at her parents or stressed with schoolwork, she would sneak out of the house and find Trunks. Sometimes he would be asleep or working late, but he always dropped whatever he was doing to join her for a midnight flight through the black sky. She had missed it more than she cared to admit.

Landing on the doorstep, Pan followed Trunks inside the dark house, switching on lights as he led her to the stairs. "So, what is it that you wanted to show me?" she asked, unable to take the suspense a second longer.

"All in due time, Panny," he said, smirking at her as they reached the top landing. "I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"I'm not a patient person, Trunks," Pan told him with a glare. "Your 'surprise' better be good. Oh, and your porn collection doesn't qualify, no matter how impressive it might be."

The lavender-haired boy roared with laughter. When he calmed down, he looked over his shoulder at her and winked. "Rest assured, Panny, that any porn I may or may not have will be kept to myself. I have something much better to show you than naked women. Well, better for you anyway," he added with another wink.

"Pervert," she mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Trunks stopped in front of his bedroom door and pushed it open. They walked inside, closing the door behind them. Pan sat on his bed while he searched for something in his closet. Five minutes passed and he was still looking for whatever it was he wanted to show her. Pan, who's patience had finally run out, was about to leave when he turned around, a box in his hands.

"Here it is," he stated, walking it over to the bed and setting it beside her.

"What is it?" Pan inquired, eyeing the square object curiously.

"Open it and see." Trunks' eyes gazed eagerly between her and the mystery box, his excitement enticing her even more.

Pulling the box closer, Pan ripped the lid off and gazed inside, confusion replacing her earlier interest. "What is all of this?"

Inside, we're several items: a couple books, a beaded bracelet with a small faux dragon ball in the center, and a cute little toy robot with the initials G.I.R.U stamped across the side of it, which Pan assumed stood for the name of the manufacturer. Raising her head, she looked at Trunks expectantly.

"It's all for you," Trunks said, smiling brightly.

"For me?" she repeated. "But why?"

"You really don't remember what today is, do you?" Pan shook her head. "It's the anniversary of the first day we met. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you forgot. It's been four years since we celebrated."

 **Trunks' POV**

Trunks was a little disappointed that Pan hadn't remembered their day, but he couldn't hold it against her. It was hard to believe that it had already been eighteen years since they first met; it seemed like only yesterday to him.

He was six and Pan was eight months old when her parents finally revealed that they had a daughter. According to his mom, even though both their families had always been close, Pan's dad always failed to mention that he was expecting a child. She told Trunks five years had passed before they found out about Gohan.

Eighteen years ago, Pan's parents brought her and the boys with them to a party his mother was throwing and that was the first time he saw her. His mom was pregnant with Bulla at the time and Trunks remembered being so excited to finally see what a baby girl looked like. He never told Pan this, but he also remembered thinking that she was an angel when he first laid eyes on her and was slightly disappointed when his sister was born because she wasn't as beautiful as Pan.

That day always stuck with him, so when he was sixteen and Pan was ten, Trunks mentioned to her that it had been exactly ten years since they had met. Later that day, she surprised him with a little rope bracelet she had made and that had started their tradition. Every year since, they exchanged gifts.

"Trunks?"

Pan's voice pulled him from the past. He smiled at her and pointed at the box beside her. "I never stopped celebrating that day. Even when you hated me, I still made sure to get you something."

"But you never gave them to me," Pan commented quietly. "Why?"

Trunks sighed. "I couldn't give you presents when I was trying to make you stay away from me. I couldn't let you think I didn't hate you. You had to think I did for my plan to work. I never stopped caring about you, though."

 **Pan's POV**

Her chest tightened at his words. "Thank you, Trunks," she said, giving him an affectionate smile. "These gifts are great."

"Better than naked women?" he asked.

"Much better," she laughed.

"Agree to disagree," he smirked. "Oh! I almost forgot this year's present." He pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Saved the best for last."

Lifting the lid, Pan gasped when she saw the expensive gold locket inside. She took it out with trembling fingers and opened the locket to find a picture of her and Trunks when they were kids. Pan's eyes burned, tears threatening to escape over her eyelids and slip down her cheeks. Everything he said, every present, every gesture pierced her heart and made her feel more vulnerable than she ever had before. She could feel the last fragile wall protecting her heart crumbling.

"I don't know what to say," she forced out, her throat tight with rampant emotion.

"You don't have to say anything," he assured her, sitting next to her on the bed. "Just let me know when you have my gift." He smiled teasingly and bumped her shoulder.

Pan laughed shakily and leaned toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. She felt him tense against her. "Thank you," she whispered again. "For everything."

She heard him swallow and felt him nod. "No thanks necessary," he said, sounding almost breathless.

Pulling away, she met his gaze and instantly became lost in the blue irises, drowning in them. Without giving herself the chance to overthink it, Pan leaned in again. Trunks' breathing quickened as her lips moved closer to his. Her own heart beat in time with every one of his breaths. Their mouths were centimeters away, so close, when the sound of a door slamming downstairs made them jump apart, the items in Pan's lap falling to the floor.

"Shit!" Pan quickly bent down to pick up everything Trunks had given her, thankful for the distraction. Her cheeks burned, embarrassed at what she had almost done, what she still wanted to do. "Everyone must be home," she stated, straightening.

"Yeah," he said quietly, not looking at her. "They must be."

Pan's brow furrowed. "Trunks? Are you all right?"

"No," he told her, his voice shaking. "Not even fucking close."

"What's wrong?" she asked, having an idea of what it might be.

"Forget it, Pan. I don't want to get into it," he responded without looking at her. "You should just go."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you," Pan asserted.

"Pan," Trunks said, a warning clear in his tone.

"Trunks." The black-haired Saiyan crossed her arms, refusing to back down. "Tell me."

"Fine," he snapped, standing up and finally meeting her eyes. His burned with an anger that startled her. "If you really want to know… I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"Be your friend. It hurts too fucking much," he breathed, voice dark and low. "I feel like there's a knife lodged in my chest and every day that I see you, that I can't touch you, somebody turns it a full rotation. I'm bleeding from the inside out, Pan. Having your lips so close and then yanked away is more than I can take."

His words described what she was feeling to the letter. Her love for him had become such a large part of her over the past month that she didn't think she could survive another day without his skin touching hers; but she had to, somehow. It was for the best…wasn't it? The best for who? a little voice said. For your dad? Bulma? Why care about their feelings when they don't care about yours?She hated that the voice made sense, but still, she tried to fight it and her growing urges.

"I'm sorry, Trunks, but you're going to have to live with this. It's better for every-"

"Don't give me that shit," he snapped, cutting her off. "You were the one who was about to kiss me. You need to stop fucking with my head. What the hell do you want, Pan?"

"What I want doesn't matter, Trunks," she whispered.

"Bullshit. You deserve to be happy more than anyone I know."

"But our parents...," she tried pathetically; she knew she was losing this argument. Her already fragile resolve was weakening even more, threatening to snap. "They'd be furious with us."

"Why would you put their happiness before yours? What have they done to deserve that kind of sacrifice?" He glared at her, waiting for her response.

"It's just…complicated, Trunks," she answered lamely.

Trunks scoffed. "Seems pretty black and white to me." He moved closer to her until he was standing directly in front of her. His eyes softened as he stared down at her. "I've tried to be a brother to you, a friend. I've tried, but I'm no good at it. The smell of your skin, your hair, your breath," he whispered, "it undoes me." And then he kissed her. The heat of his lips seared against Pan's as his right hand found her face and cupped her chin, drawing her forward and into his arms. Just one kiss from him had her unraveling at the seams.

Pan kissed him back with equal voracity. She melted against him, growing weak and losing herself in the heat of the moment. His thumb stroked her cheek as his lips continued to claim hers with an intensity that echoed the desperation in her soul. Trunks' mouth slanted over hers, hungry and passionate, nipping and sucking her plump lower lip until it was flush from the abuse and she was gasping with each labored breath. He was breaking her with every kiss, with every velvety stroke of his tongue. This is what I want, she thought. Pan was tired of hiding her feelings for Trunks. What she felt for him had become such a large part of her that it was impossible to contain anymore; and she didn't want to. Concealing a piece of herself, something that made her who she was, was like trying to pour water into a broken glass; it would only leave her empty in the end. Bulla was right; this was inevitable.

Pan was so lost in the moment that she didn't notice he had moved them toward the bed until her back hit the mattress. She pulled her lips away and stared up at the beautiful boy above her, running her hands through his silky hair. "Trunks…" she rasped breathlessly, her chest heaving. "I want you, more than anything."

His responding smile was almost blinding. "I've dreamed about having you beneath me, in my bed, for years."

"Creep," she told him jokingly, before he slammed his mouth down on hers again, kissing her with all the pent-up emotion and arousal he had for her, all that she knew he'd had for these last four years.

Pan's hands clutched at him, pulling him closer. One of his hands grasped one of hers and pinned it beside her head, intertwining their fingers. His free hand explored her body slowly, trailing down her jaw, her throat, over her shoulder, until it found her breast and squeezed gently. Pan gasped into his mouth and Trunks used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue tangling with hers.

Pulling away only slightly, Trunks looked at her, his eyes dark with obvious desire. "Do you want this?" he asked her, his voice gravelly. Pan stared back at him for a moment before nodding once. "And do you trust me? I can't let myself be with you like this unless I know I have your trust. So…do I?"

A part of Pan wanted to say yes just so he would keep going, but another part of her, a bigger part, wanted to answer him truthfully; for both their sakes. "I do, I trust you," she told him honestly.

Smiling, he gripped her chin, letting Pan feel his strength as he pressed his fingers gently into her face. He held her there, poised for his kiss, which came hot, slow, and teasing at first and then became rough and demanding. He kissed her for a long time, taking his time with her. She matched his hunger, kiss for kiss, giving back as much as he took, until it wasn't enough for either of them. He sat up, pulling her upright with him. Then he reached for the hem of her dress, which had bunched around her hips, and slowly peeled it off her skin, after removing the gold belt under her bust.

After tossing it on the floor, his eyes took in the lacy black bra she wore. He reached around and undid the clasp, pulling it away from her body and throwing it on the floor to join her dress. Pan flushed crimson, resisting the urge to cover her bare breasts; never before had she been so exposed in front of a boy. It was all new to her and she felt paralyzed with fear and inexperience. The look of adoration on Trunks' face, however, quickly abolished any and all anxiety plaguing her.

"God, you're perfect," he whispered.

Their mouths met again as he leaned forward, forcing her onto her back again. His gentle kiss quickly became urgent and heated as he grabbed one of her breasts. Pan moaned into his mouth when he began to knead and pinch her sensitive flesh. Detaching his lips from hers, he trailed them down her body until they found her puckered nipples. Taking one into his mouth, he sucked gently, sending heat throughout her already overexcited body. She whimpered and writhed beneath him as he nipped, licked, and sucked her breast while massaging the other one lightly.

"Trunks," she breathed out, every sensation he elicited new and exciting.

When he was done with her chest, he kissed his way down her body to the end of the bed, stood, and removed her golden sandals. Then his hands were at the waistband of her panties. Pan gave him a timid nod when he looked at her for permission, letting him pull the black fabric down her slender legs. She was now completely exposed to the scrutiny of his gaze and it made her feel unprotected and vulnerable. Trunks's eyes roamed feverishly over every inch of her pale skin. Feeling self-conscious, Pan squeezed her thighs together to hide her most private area. When his eyes finally made it back to her face, he gave her a reassuring smile before stripping off his own clothes. His jacket was the first thing to go, followed by his tie and dress shirt.

Pan's eyes wandered over his upper body; his shoulders were wide, his chest defined and rippling with muscle. Her brown orbs then focused on his hands as they removed his belt and unbuttoned his pants. She licked her lips nervously as he pushed them down, along with his underwear. When her gaze found his erect member, her eyes widened and she swallowed hard, the sheer size of him filling her with dread at the inevitable pain to come. She wasn't en expert on the male anatomy, but it was obvious to even her that Trunks was above average.

Trunks must've noticed the fright in her eyes because he climbed back over her and kissed her softly before whispering in her ear. "It's okay, baby. I'll be gentle, I promise. You know I would never hurt you if I could help it."

"I've never done…this before," Pan admitted shyly, her cheeks flaming red.

"I figured," he told her. "It's nothing to be ashamed about. I'm honored to be the first man inside you."

His soft warm lips latched onto hers again, easing her nerves. While he distracted her with his mouth, his hand trailed down her body until it found her hot core. He eased her thighs apart and she gasped as one of his long fingers delved into her moist center. The intrusion was slightly uncomfortable, but with each pump of his digit, her body became more accustomed to it until she was squirming beneath him. She whimpered against his lips when he added a second finger and she began to undulate her hips, seeking release from the pressure building within her.

When she was on the edge of climaxing, he surprised her by removing his fingers, leaving her empty and unsatisfied. She groaned at the loss. "Jerk."

Trunks grinned down at her. "Don't worry , Panny. I never leave a woman unsatisfied."

Jealousy flared within Pan as she imagined all the women Trunks "satisfied". She narrowed her eyes at him. "You picked the wrong time to bring up your past whores, asshole."

"Pan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I know you've been with a lot of girls, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about them, especially now," she told him as she tried to get out from under him.

"Wait, don't go," Trunks rolled off of her and sighed. "God, I'm really messing this up, aren't I?"

"What was your first clue?" Pan replied sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, Panny. I've just never done this before," he said, turning his head to look at her.

She propped herself up on her elbow, her eyes widening in shock. "You've never done-" she gestured between the two of them "-this before? You've never had-"

"No, I have," he admitted somewhat ashamedly. "It's just that I've never done it with someone I care about as much as I care about you. It's all new to me and I don't know what to fucking say."

Pan was silent as she processed his words and then she smiled down at him. "That was perfect."

This time Trunks' eyes widened, surprise clear on his face. "It was?"

The young Saiyan nodded. "A girl wants her first time to be with someone she cares about and who cares about her; that's all that matters."

Leaning down, she claimed his lips and kissed him softly. His mouth was unresponsive for a moment, but then he rolled on top of her, settling himself between her thighs and kissing her fervently. She was panting hard by the time he pulled away to let her breathe. Sucking in large lungfuls of air, she watched as Trunks reached over and opened the top drawer of his bedside table, pulling out a square foil packet. She braced herself on her elbows, breathing heavily, and watched him roll the latex over his hard length.

When Trunks was done, he settled between her thighs again. Reaching between their bodies, he aligned himself at her entrance. "Ready?"

"Yes," she squeaked nervously.

"We can stop if you want, Pan," he told her, pressing their foreheads together. "If you're scared or uncomfortable, I'll stop. I promise I won't be mad."

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Pan closed her eyes and said, "I'm fine. Keep going."

"Are you sure?" He pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Yeah," she replied with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

Trunks continued to stare at her for a few seconds as if making sure this was really what she wanted, before finally nodding and pushing his hips forward. He entered her slowly and Pan winced at the intrusion. His fingers had loosened her up some, but it still burned slightly as he stretched her. When he reached her barrier, he cupped her cheek and stared lovingly into her eyes.

"It's better if we get this part over with in one quick thrust. You ready?" She nodded in response. How bad could it possibly be? she thought. There had been some minor pain, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Besides, movies and books always made sex sound amazing and beautiful.

Kissing her tenderly, he drove his hips forward quickly, tearing her hymen apart. She was grateful that his mouth was covering hers because she was sure her scream would've alerted the entire house to her distress; instead, Trunks' lips muffled the sound. There was nothing beautiful about the first time. It was all a lie, a terrible fucking myth designed to make girls fear it less. Fuck you authors; those heroines couldn't have writhed in pleasure. Fuck you movies; those actresses shouldn't have gasped and moaned the way they did. They were all liars. They were all… she gasped when he thrust further inside of her, a spark shooting through her. Pan tore her mouth away from his and gazed into his eyes. "That felt good," she whispered.

His smirked, a look of arrogance present. "I know."

"Do it again. Move in and out again." He did and whatever pain she'd originally felt ebbed away to a dull ache she could easily ignore.

Trunks groaned as he pulled out and pushed back into her a few more times. Pan closed her eyes as the ache between her legs faded away almost completely, pleasure taking its place.

"So much better than I imagined," Trunks rasped.

The man above her thrust into her with slow, measured strokes, allowing Pan's body to become accustomed to his large member. After awhile, she started to instinctually propel her own hips up to meet his thrusts, a moan escaping her as she did. Soon, she began to crave more friction, their slow rhythm no longer enough for her.

"Do you think…?" Pan started breathlessly. "Can you go faster?"

Gazing down at her, Trunks slowed his movements even more. Sweat covered his forehead, causing his lavender hair to stick to his temples. "You sure?" he asked her, concern clear in his blue eyes. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sure, Trunks," she said, exasperated, her desire beginning to overwhelm her. "Please…I need more."

"Anything for you," he growled.

Pan wrapped her legs around Trunks' waist as he pumped into her harder and faster than before, drinking in the feel of his naked flesh on hers and teasing the beads of sweat that rose on his back as he moved inside of her. Their mouths connected in a frenzied tangle of passion and heat as her fingers curved around his neck and she ate up the masculine grunts and groans streaming from his throat. He was careful to keep quiet, but Pan was worried that they weren't being quiet enough. She moaned into his mouth, aware in the back of her mind that if they were caught, they would blow any chance of having a sympathetic ear with either of their parents, but caring less and less with each thrust of Trunks' hips.

The stirrings of a violent orgasm began to build inside Pan, her body thrilling with sensation as Trunks plunged harder and deeper into her. Her legs tightened around his narrow waist and her fingernails clawed at his muscled back when his strong fingers dug into her ass, tilting her pelvis in such a way that the head of his manhood grazed back and forth against a secret spot inside her with expert precision. She pulled her mouth away from his and stared at him with wide eyes, the pressure inside her becoming so great that it nearly scared her.

"Trunks, I'm-"

"I know, baby," he grunted through clenched teeth. "Me, too." His body was tense and glistening with sweat as he slammed into her over and over again. "God, I can't… it feels so good. Too good."

Removing one hand from her ass, Trunks reached between them and found her sensitive bundle of nerves. Pan arched her back and bit down hard on her lip to contain her sounds of pleasure. Trunks thrust into her several more time and then his body stilled above her, a low growl coming from deep in his throat as he exploded inside of her. His member pulsed deep within her, triggering her own release. Her climax came on strong and hard, stealing her voice and her vision as it claimed her. She squeezed her eyes shut while her body shook from the intensity of her orgasm until, finally, the blinding pleasure faded into a pleasant dull throbbing.

When Trunks came down from his high, he collapsed on top of Pan, breathing heavily. They lay like that for a few moments, both panting while Pan ran her fingers through his damp hair, before Trunks pushed away from her. He kissed her gently and then got up to dispose of the used condom. Afterward, he returned to the bed, pulled Pan into his arms and held her for so long that her eyes grew droopy and she drifted into a gentle sleep broken only by the sudden –and admittedly pretty alarming –thought that she was lying in her stepbrother's room.

"I can't sleep here, can I?" Pan mumbled sleepily into his chest.

"Of course you can, Panny," Trunks said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "There's plenty of room."

"That's not what I meant." She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him. "It's too risky. What if someone catches me in here?"

"Would that be so bad?" he asked, sitting up.

Pan hesitated a moment before answering. "I'm not ready for people to find out about us, assuming there is an us." She glanced at him nervously from under her eyelashes, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. After what they just did, Pan didn't want to go back to the way it was before, she couldn't.

Trunks smiled. "Of course there's an us. That's the best gift you could have ever given me; and we don't have to tell anyone until you're ready."

Returning his smile, Pan threw her arms around his neck and whispered, "Thank you."

"Anything for you," he said into her hair, holding her tight. "I'd really like it if you stayed, though."

"Maybe next time," she told him as she withdrew from him and stood up. Locating her discarded clothes, Pan began to redress. Once she was fully clothed, she turned to face the bed. Leaning down, she gave Trunks a chaste kiss before starting toward the door. Before she left, she looked at him and added, "See you at work tomorrow?"

"Of course," he responded. "It wouldn't set a good example if the president played hooky." Staring at her, he chuckled and shook his head, clearly amused by something.

"What's so funny?" Pan inquired.

"Nothing," Trunks said. "I'm just not used to being walked out on."

Pan laughed, too, and rolled her eyes. "There's a first time for everything," she remarked. "Good night, Trunks."

"Night, baby."

Praying that she wouldn't be seen sneaking out of her stepbrother's bedroom, Pan walked quickly and quietly to her own room, breathing a sigh of relief when she was safely inside. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she replayed what had happened with Trunks in her head. The night had started out as a simple family dinner and escalated quickly. She almost couldn't believe she had lost her virginity to her friend turned enemy turned stepbrother turned friend again. It was almost enough to make her head hurt; but she could honestly say that she had no regrets. Pan and Trunks had done something huge, something that would change everything, but she decided that, for once, she wasn't going to worry about that. She took what she wanted and it had made her happier than she had ever been. Whatever consequences, if any, would be dealt with later.

With a contented sigh, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, exhaustion seeping into her bones. Her smile didn't falter as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 **Author's Note:**

There it is. Was it worth the thirteen chapter wait? Don't judge me too harshly. I'm not the best at writing love scenes. They're harder to write than you might think. Let me know if you liked it in a lovely review. This heat has been making me lazy, but I'll make sure to update on Wed/Thu. This upcoming weekend in Southern California is going to be extremely hot. I'm talking triple digits (111 degrees on Monday), so if you don't hear from me, then that means I made the mistake of going outside and spontaneously combusted… ;)

-Chels xoxo


	14. Last Nite

**Hey everyone! So I've had this chapter done- but not edited- since Tuesday night. I was going to edit & post it Wednesday, but me & my boyfriend got into a little dispute. I won't call it an argument because it wasn't. My boyfriend is super sweet & never yells at me & I never yell at him. I was upset, though, & I didn't stop being upset until it was time for bed. Usually when I have stuff to do with my story, I'll stay up late & do it, but I was so tired after everything that I put it off until Thursday. So here we are. I'm seriously sorry my relationship problem got in the way. It's rare that the boyfriend & I have a problem, so it probably won't interfere with this story again. **

**On a positive note, I survived the heat (obviously). So far anyway. More triple digits coming up this week & next. Going outside feels like you're standing in a mini hell on earth. We've already had a couple wildfires. My friend has it worse in Vegas, though (consistent 114/115 degree days for awhile), so I guess I shouldn't complain. Anyway, enough of that. As usual, enjoy the chapter, guys :)**

 **One Kiss From You is by Britney Spears. I was obsessed with her when I was younger :)**

 **To SERLee: I'm glad you liked the chapter, hon :) I'm going to let Trunks & Pan be happy for a little bit before everyone finds out, but count on their being drama when they do ;)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Perfect? You've made me so happy. Haha. Sex scenes are hard to write, especially first times. This chapter starts with the morning after. There will be tension in the house & Bulla makes an appearance, so that'll answer your other question. Pan still cares what other people will think about her & Trunks' relationship, but not as much as before. **

**I made it through the heat, but it was tough. Sunday I had to go out to run some errands & then celebrate Father's Day with my dad. It was 108 degrees that day. Monday was the worst. It ended up being 113 & you're right, it definitely felt hotter than that. Thank goodness it was a dry heat. I imagine it gets pretty humid in Alabama. Do you have terrible summers there, too?**

 **To Lordshuvra: Glad you liked it :) I thought about making Bulla & Goten an item, but I decided against it. I like them as a couple, but I figured that one pair of step siblings falling in love was enough. Lol. **

**To Sailor Saiyan007: Lol. I know right? The first time is so awkward. I'm glad I got Pan's first over with. It was kind of hard to write.**

 **We don't have a pool :( It should be a law that every house in southern regions should come with a pool. Ugh…at least we have AC, though. We have triple digits most of this week & next week. It was so bad on Monday that they issued an excessive heat warning. I can't wait for this heat wave to pass. You're lucky. For now anyway. I bet it gets bad in Texas :/**

 **To Majin Hazaa: You're sweet to say that. I'm always worried that the chapters won't live up to everyone's expectations. Your review will make me worry a little less :) This chapter will be the aftermath of the previous night. There will be awkwardness aplenty & Pan will of course have some discomfort down there. Lord knows every girl experiences it :/ **

**I finally responded to your PM. I won't take as long next time, I promise :)**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Last Nite**

 **Pan's POV**

A loud shrill sound woke Pan the next morning. Confused at first, she rolled onto her back and covered her ears with her pillow, hoping the sound would stop. When it didn't, she sat up and glared through tired eyes, trying to locate the source. Eventually her gaze landed on the alarm clock beside her bed and she groaned, annoyed. Her mind and body were so utterly drained, that she just wanted to spend the day in bed. Unfortunately, she had to wake up instead and get ready for work.

 _Work. With Trunks._ Memories of last night suddenly flooded Pan's now alert mind. Biting her lip, she tried to contain the broad smile spreading across her face. Pan had finally given into her feelings and it had made her happier than she had ever been. If not for the slightly uncomfortable ache between her legs, she would have thought that she'd dreamt it all. Where did they go from here, though? Were she and Trunks in a relationship now or did they go back to being "just friends"? Pan wasn't sure, but she did know one thing: she couldn't go back to the way things had been before last night. If Trunks didn't feel the same way, she didn't know how she would move on; but if he did…

Pan was still afraid of what people would think if she and Trunks became a couple, especially their parents. She wouldn't let that fear keep her from the man she wanted, though. After last night, it would be pointless to continue to ignore her feelings. The only reason she did in the first place was to avoid any and all intimacy with Trunks, but that ship had obviously sailed. Last night was definitely a turning point for the two young Saiyans. Whether that was a good or bad thing was still undecided.

Sighing, Pan threw her blankets off and stood, the soreness between her legs becoming more pronounced as she gathered her clothes for the day and walked to the bathroom. After a hot shower to wash off the sweat and other fluids from last night, the young Saiyan dressed and brushed her teeth and long black hair before opening the door to leave. She didn't get very far, however, because Bulla was blocking the doorway. Pan internally groaned. _If I had a dollar for every time someone cornered me in the bathroom…_

"Good morning, Bulla," Pan greeted warily. It was obvious her blue-haired friend was waiting for her. That, combined with the large shit-eating grin on her face, had her on edge.

"It most certainly is," Bulla said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I thought you weren't a morning person, Bee. Can I ask what has you so chipper today?"

"You're right; I hate mornings," her friend agreed, "but it's hard not to be in a good mood after what's happened. You especially should be pretty happy about it."

"Can you stop being so cryptic?" Pan snapped. "You're going to make me late for work and then Trunks will be pissed at us both."

Bulla snorted. "I'm sure he'll find it in his heart to forgive you. How could be not after last night?"

Pan's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest at the bluenette's words. _She can't possibly know…can she?_ "Last night?" she asked, feigning ignorance, while struggling to stay calm. "What happened last night?"

The smug smile on Bulla's face widened. "I think we both know what happened, Panny."

 _Don't admit to anything. Innocent until proven guilty, right?_ "I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about, Bulla. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work." Pan tried to move past her, but Bulla stepped in front of her again, blocking her path.

"Cut the shit, Pan," the azure-haired Saiyan told her. "I know you slept with my brother."

 _Guilty. So guilty._ Wait…why was she so afraid of Bulla knowing about her encounter with Trunks? It wasn't like she didn't already know about the feelings she had for him. Still, Pan considered lying about it, if only to deny her friend the satisfaction of being right about their "inevitable" hookup- she would never let Pan hear the end of it.

However, Bulla was the only one who knew about her and Trunks, thus making her the only person she didn't have to lie to and pretend around. It was a relief to not have to do neither of those things for once. Giving in, she sighed in defeat. "How did you find out?"

"Oh please," she snorted again. "'I just lost my V-card' is written all over your face, you slut." She laughed as Pan glared at her so-called friend, the urge to wipe the smile off her face almost overwhelming the darker haired girl. "Oh, not to mention I heard you two last night," she added nonchalantly after she had calmed down.

Pan felt her face turn several shades of red before it settled on what she imagined was a dark "I got caught banging my stepbrother" crimson. "How do you know it was me? It could've been anyone."

"It could have been," Bulla agreed with a nod, "but it wasn't. It was you. You see, we left the restaurant not long after you and Trunks. When we got home, I went upstairs to check on you, but your room was empty. I thought that maybe you decided to go somewhere to blow off some steam, so I shrugged it off and went to take a quick shower before bed. Now as you know, my room is right in the middle of yours and Trunks' and the walls aren't the thickest, so you can imagine what I heard when I crawled into my warm comfy bed and tried to sleep. Emphasis on tried."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Pan muttered, her face burning with embarrassment. "I thought we were quiet."

Bulla laughed again. "You thought wrong, girly. Your little love sounds were muffled, yeah, but it was still pretty obvious that you and my brother were having a good time." Pan blushed even more, making her friend laugh harder. "I'm sorry, Panny," she said between fits of laughter. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. You and Trunks just made it too easy."

"Sorry," Pan mumbled, wishing she were anywhere but here, in this very awkward situation.

"I'm not mad, Pan," the bluenette told her. "Sure, I'm a little sleep deprived, but I'm still happy for you. For Trunks, too. It's about damn time you two did something more than stare longingly at each other from across the room. Next time, though, give me a head's up so I can disappear for an hour or two, yeah?"

"If there is a next time," the raven-haired girl said. "Trunks and I haven't really talked about being in a relationship or anything."

"Yeah, I bet there wasn't much talking going on last night," Bulla commented with a smirk. "Grunting and moaning definitely, but not talking."

Pan couldn't help but giggle at her friend's teasing. "Shut up, Brief. We actually did talk a little bit last night, but not so much after we…you know. I just don't know where we stand now. I don't know what he wants."

"What do _you_ want?" asked Bulla, all teasing absent from her voice.

"Well, I'm not exactly the type of girl to sleep with a guy and forget about it and I'm still scared of what people will think, but… I want to be with him," Pan admitted.

"Then my advice to you, my dear Panny, is to find Trunks and tell him exactly that," she advised.

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find him," stated Pan. "He's kind of my boss."

"Even more reason for you to tell him how you feel. You wouldn't want things to be awkward at work, would you?"

"Definitely not," she replied.

"Go on then," her blue-headed friend said, finally stepping out of her way. "Find that idiot brother of mine and make him see how wonderful you are and how lucky he is. I'm sure he already knows that, though."

"We'll see. Thanks, Bee."

"What are extremely beautiful and awesome best friends for?" Bulla asked rhetorically.

Rolling her eyes, Pan chuckled and gave the bluenette a brief hug before retreating back to her room. She wished everyone would accept her and Trunks as easily as Bulla had, but she didn't think they would. Putting the topic of her and her stepbrother on the back burner for now, Pan focused on finishing getting ready. After she had applied some light makeup and slipped on a pair of black flats to go with her black pencil skirt and beige blouse, she headed downstairs for a quick cup of coffee. When she entered the kitchen, however, she found it empty and coffee-less. Grumbling to herself, she started rummaging through the cupboards in search of the necessary ingredients to make the life-restoring beverage.

"Where the hell are the damn filters?" Pan complained as she bent at the waist to look in one of the bottom cabinets.

"I could definitely get used to this view every morning," a voice said from behind her, a voice she knew very well.

Pan straightened, but before she could turn around, she felt large hands grab her hips and a familiar pair of lips graze her neck. "Trunks," she gasped.

"I missed you after you left last night," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm sorry," Pan told him breathlessly. She could feel his excitement, hot and hard, pressing into her lower back as he pulled her body against his. "You know why I couldn't stay."

"I know," Trunks said, his lips moving against her ear deliciously. "I don't know if I'll be able to let you go next time, though."

Turning to face him, Pan found lust filled eyes staring down at her and a smirk pulling at his mouth. "So we're going to do that again?"

Confusion morphed his face, wiping away his previous desire. "You want to, don't you? I mean I don't know about you, but I had a great time. Plus, it is sort of what couples do."

"We-we're a couple?" she asked, staring at him with hopeful eyes. It was what she wanted and it sounded like Trunks wanted it, too.

"I assumed we were," Trunks admitted. She saw the doubt begin to form in his blue eyes. _He must think that I don't want that_ , thought Pan. Clearing his throat, he dropped his hands from her hips and took a step back. "It's okay if that's not what you want, I understand. I hate to sound like a girl right now, I just thought that-"

Pan didn't let him finish. Throwing her arms around his neck, she pulled him back against her and kissed him hard and deep. Trunks kissed her back fervently, forcing his tongue past her lips and deepening the kiss. Pinning her between his body and the counter, he gripped her behind and picked her up. Pan wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned when he began to grind against her core. It didn't take her long, though, to remember that they were in the kitchen, where anyone could walk in and catch them.

Reluctantly detaching her mouth from Trunks', Pan pressed her forehead against his and tried to calm her racing heart and her libido. "We can't do this here, Trunks."

"We can go upstairs," he panted.

Chuckling breathlessly, she pulled away and shook her head. "No, we can't. We have to leave for work soon."

"We can be a little late," he countered. "I'm the boss remember?"

"I thought you said the president couldn't be late," Pan reminded him with a cheeky smile. "I believe you said it would set a poor example."

"If someone asks me why I was late, which, for the record, no one will, I'll just say something came up. Something did technically come up, so it wouldn't even be a lie." Trunks winked at her and ground himself against her again.

The dark-haired Saiyan rolled her eyes. "As much as I would love to go upstairs with you, I don't think I can. I'm a little sore…down there." She blushed as Trunks' eyes widened with understanding.

"I'm sorry, Panny," he said while stroking her cheek. "I feel like an ass now. I should've known. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm fine," she told him with a reassuring smile. "It's just a bit painful, so it might be a few days before we can do anything like that again."

"A few days?" Trunks groaned. "I don't think I'll make it."

"You should get reacquainted with your right hand then," she teased before untangling herself from him and lowering herself carefully to the floor. After straightening her skirt, she looked at Trunks and said in a more serious tone, "Bulla knows what we did."

"Oh," Trunks remarked simply.

"She actually told me last night before dinner that she's known about us for awhile," she told him. "Not that there was an us at the time. She seemed to think so, though. Apparently we looked at each other a certain way and that's how she figured it out."

"I guess that explains why she was acting so weird yesterday," Trunks deduced. "Are you upset that she knows?"

"No," Pan admitted, shaking her head. "It's actually somewhat of a relief to not have to lie to at least one person."

"Just imagine how much better it'll be when we tell everyone about us," he said. "If it's weighing on you so much, we should tell our parents sooner rather than later."

"Not yet, okay?" Pan pleaded. "I'm not ready."

"Okay, okay. I already promised you that we would wait until you were ready," the purple-haired Saiyan reassured her. "I won't say a word."

"Thank you,"she said gratefully.

"Anytime." He kissed her softly and then pulled away to make the coffee himself.

Trunks had just poured a cup for him and Pan when her father and his mother entered the room. They both froze as their eyes landed on the young woman sitting at the table, Trunks seated beside her. The room immediately filled with tension and awkward silence as Pan stared back, unflinching.

After several long moments, Goku cleared his throat and said, "Good morning, kids."

"Morning," Trunks offered.

Choosing not to speak, Pan turned her focus back to her steaming cup of coffee, adding cream and sugar to it. She preferred it with just sugar, but she needed the cream to cool the hot liquid so that she could drink it faster and leave. Pan was still upset about the previous night and she didn't trust what might come out of her mouth if she spent too much time around her dad and stepmom.

"Trunks honey?" Bulma said meekly, obviously anxious about the situation. "Goku and I have to go somewhere for a few days. Do you think you can hold down the fort until we get back?"

"Where are you going?" he inquired.

"Nowhere important," she answered vaguely. "Are you okay with keeping an eye on your sister and Pan?"

"Well, they're both too old for a babysitter, Mom, but sure. I'll take real good care of them," he told his mom, glancing at Pan and winking discreetly.

"I know you will," Bulma stated, completely oblivious to the double meaning in his words.

"Pan?" Turning her attention away from Trunks, Pan looked at her father with a blank expression, still not saying anything. "Will you be all right while your moth- I mean, while Bulma and I are away?"

Her expression turned from stoic to angry in an instant. "I'll be fine," she seethed. "Your concern is touching, but where was it when Mom died? It would've been nice then."

"How can you say that? Of course I was worried about you and the boys after your mom died," the olderSaiyan argued.

"Could've fooled me."

"Pan, that's not fair-"

"I have to go to work," she interrupted. Draining the last of her coffee, she stood abruptly and quickly exited out the back door.

When she was outside, she took a deep breath, the fresh morning air filling her lungs. How dare he ask her if she was going to be all right when he never bothered to ask her when it mattered? She remembered how he was worried about her the night she visited her mother's grave, but again, it wasn't when it really mattered. Pan needed him when her mom first passed away and the months after; yet, he was barely there for her and her brothers, emotionally and physically. Now she knew that he must have been with Bulma instead of them and that only made her resent the blue-haired scientist even more.

Tears threatened to fall, but Pan held them back. She really did have to get to work and she didn't want to smudge her makeup. Taking a calming breath, she took to the sky and headed toward the building where she worked. Pan was almost there when she felt a hand grab hers mid flight. Startled, she looked to the side to find Trunks smiling sympathetically at her. His presence calmed her still frayed nerves more than anything else ever could. Smiling back at him, they flew the rest of the way together, hand in hand.

 **Author's Note** **:**

How was it? Awkward, right? Poor Pan. She can't hide anything from Bulla. Fun fact, my mom could totally tell when I lost my virginity. TMI? Oh well; we're all adults here (I think) & we're all friends (I hope). Anyway, enough about my awkward teenage years. How about y'all leave me a nice review? They're always greatly appreciated :) Until next time…

-Chels xoxo


	15. Perfect

**Hello, you wonderful people! Not much to say today. Oh, except that I hurt my thumb & it was painful to write, but I still did it, so y'all better like this chapter & leave me a review…**

 **Just kidding! I** _ **did**_ **hurt my thumb & it **_**was**_ **painful to write, but you don't have to like or review anything. Unless you want to, then by all means… ;) There's sexual content coming up. It's a little steamier than last time, so beware.**

 **Last Nite is by The Strokes.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Gohan & Goten are upset about the whole Bulma/Goku situation, but they're staying quiet out of respect for their father. They won't hold their tongues forever, though. Trunks is definitely upset about how Goku hurt his kids. How Goku & Bulma got together & where they went will be revealed in time ;) Gohan has his own place with Videl & Goten lives at CC with them. Where those two lived was mentioned in chapter three, I think. You'll find out if Bulla gives Trunks & Pan some alone time in next chapter. **

**I love making new friends, too. Writing has been a great way to meet & get to know a lot of interesting people :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: My mom is way too damn perceptive. The day after I lost my virginity, she said that I was "glowing". I'm so glad I moved out years ago. Lol. Bulla is great. I love writing her.**

 **Unfortunately, you & I haven't felt the worst the summer has to offer, yet. Bleh. Since we don't have a pool, I guess I could just take a cold bath & pretend. Lol. Stay cool, hon :)**

 **To Lordshuvra: I know, poor Pan. That girl goes through so much, but at least she has Trunks now :)**

 **To GVLuver: Hey hon! Glad you liked the chapter. I'm happy & sorry that you can relate to Pan's resentment. I can as well & I'm sure we're not alone. It's not always easy to get past. Thank you for your review :)**

 **To HetaliaFan2012: Moms, right? They always know everything. Lol. Awkwardness & angst are so fun to write. I don't why some people avoid it. I love taboo relationships. The more forbidden, the better ;) They're interesting to me & I'm glad you like them, too :) Bulma & Goku have been real jerks, but hopefully they'll see the error of their ways by the end of the story. Bulla is awesome. Pan's her best friend & she totally ships her & Trunks like we do. Lol. Thanks for the review, hon!**

 **P.S. Hetalia is awesome! I love that the voice of Trunks is America & Canada :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Lol. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, doll. Pan & Bulla are super cute. Bulma & Goku have to leave because it's necessary for the story, but I promise that they'll be back soon. Next chapter, I think. Gohan & Goten will also make an appearance ;)**

 **I feel so terrible. I just realized that you reviewed the last chapter & I never replied. I swear that I didn't know you left a review; I never got an e-mail like I usually do. Sorry hon. I'm so happy you liked chapter thirteen & the love scene :) I actually meant to change that line "I'm honored to be the first man inside you". I thought it was too cheesy, but I totally forgot to edit it. I'm glad you got some enjoyment out of it, though. Lol.**

 **Ever After is an awesome album. Probably my favorite. Their new album is decent. I like all the songs. It definitely isn't their greatest, though. I'm with you, hon. That girl…grr. Haha. I get jealous so easily :/**

 **I'm really excited for Super, but that whole Mai & Trunks thing… I've heard of it & I DO NOT support it. Still, being a loyal Dragon Ball fan, I have to watch :)**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Perfect**

 **Trunks' POV**

God, he wanted her. More than he had ever wanted anything in his life. Sitting beside her in that conference room, inhaling her sweet scent, glancing at her beautiful face out of the corner of his eye, was almost more than Trunks could take.

It was Wednesday morning and he and Pan were currently being forced to listen to some suit who worked for him drone on and on about earnings for the quarter. Since it was a quarterly meeting, it was mandatory for Trunks to attend & to hear what his executives had to report about the company, _his_ company. The young president was finding it difficult to concentrate, however. Seated next to him, taking detailed notes of the meeting, was Pan, and she was showing just enough leg to cause his sinful mind to wander.

It had been three long days since he had been with Pan in a coital way and it was driving him insane. She had been sore from their first encounter for a couple of days and he, of course, had given her the time to heal. That morning, though, when he had asked her how she was feeling, she'd smiled shyly at him and told him that she no longer felt any pain. Now, Trunks was anxiously counting down the hours until they were both home and back in his bed. Luckily for the two hormonal Saiyans, their parents still weren't home from their mysterious trip. His mom had called the night before to let him know that they were extending their trip by another day or two. Trunks was of course curious as to where they had gone and what they were doing that was so top secret, but one look at Pan erased all that from his mind and all he could think about was her.

Unfortunately, since Pan had been in pain, they hadn't been able to take advantage of their parents's absence… until now. Trunks didn't care whether their parents were home or not during their extracurricular activities, but he knew that Pan would worry less about being caught while they were gone. Bulla already knew about their relationship and was giving them space and Goten's room was on the other side of the house, so they didn't have to worry about him walking by and overhearing something incriminating. More often than not, though, he was out chasing girls, so he was rarely home. With the house nearly empty, Trunks was free to explore his girl's body with zero interruptions and Pan would have no reason to be uneasy. _Perfect._

Scratch that; it would have been perfect if the day wasn't going by at a snail's pace. Trunks groaned internally as his executive continued to talk numbers in a monotonous tone that was putting him to sleep. Pan obviously noticed his eyelids drooping because she placed her small hand discreetly on his upper thigh and squeezed lightly. Her touch immediately woke him up and when he turned his head to look at her, she winked at him before focusing on her sheet of notes again; her hand, however remained on his leg. She moved it up and down teasingly, causing other parts of him to wake up as well.

Trunks continued to stare at Pan with wide eyes, surprised by her brazen actions. Surprised, but also extremely turned on. He noticed a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth while she rubbed his leg, her hand slowly moving closer and closer to his stiffening length; she knew exactly what she was doing to him. The firm pressure of Pan's hand was driving him crazy and he had to fight every urge in his body telling him to throw her down on the conference table and take her right here and now in front of everyone. _Meeting over, ladies and gentlemen._

The purple-haired Saiyan could almost see it in his head; he would pick her up and toss her on the smooth surface of the glass table, tear her clothes off and then show her what happened when she teased him. His erection pulsed as he closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of her delicate hand on his body, imagining how he would slam into her and make her scream his name for the whole building to hear.

"Mr. Brief?" a voice asked, interrupting his daydream.

Trunks' eyes flew open at the sound to find everyone's gaze on him, including Pan's, which sparkled with mischief; he noticed she had finally removed her hand from his leg. Clearing his throat, Trunks sat up straighter and replied, "Yes?"

The suit glanced around at the rest of the table before looking at Trunks again with confusion. "I had asked you what you thought about last quarter's earnings and the projected earnings for next quarter. Excuse me for asking, sir, but are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I just have a slight headache," he lied. Trunks saw Pan smirk out of the corner of his eye and it wasn't hard for him to imagine what she was thinking because he had the same thought. He _did_ have a headache, but it wasn't his upstairs head that was hurting. "Everything sounds in order. I expect a printed report, though, on my desk by the end of the week."

"Yes, sir."

"I believe that was the last topic on the agenda. Unless anyone has anything to add, this meeting is over."

No one spoke. Instead they stood, gathered their papers and started to leave the room one at a time. Trunks stayed seated while he waited for his still hard length to go away. _Just a few more hours_ , he thought.

 **Pan's POV**

God, she wanted him. More than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Teasing him had aroused her as much as she knew it had him. It had been three days since they had been together intimately and Pan was wound tighter than a spring.

As much as she wanted to be with Trunks again, Pan had needed a couple of days to recover after their first time. Now that she was pain free, though, she was eager to be in his bed again. With their parents gone, she wouldn't have to worry about one or both of them catching her and Trunks in the act. As much as she hated them at the moment, that wasn't the way Pan wanted them to find out. Although, the idea did sometimes tempt her rebellious side whenever she thought about how they had screwed her and her brothers over. Reckless ideas aside, she was happy they were gone for a few days. Where, she didn't know and she didn't particularly care. They weren't around to blacken her mood and that was all that mattered to the young Saiyan.

Glancing at her still sitting boss, Pan smirked again as she guessed the reason why he had yet to stand like the rest of them. She was already out of her seat and was about to open her mouth to ask if he was ready to leave when a tall, curvy blond in a sexy, but still professional white dress approached them. The raven-haired girl immediately recognized her as the chief design officer. This woman was responsible for overseeing all design aspects of Capsule Corp's products and Pan personally couldn't stand her.

She had come to see Trunks a couple of times since Pan had started working for him and every time she had been rude to her. The blonde never listened when Pan said she had to wait to be seen and just walked right into Trunks' office and she always referred to her as "little girl", even though Pan had a name plate on her desk with her name clearly visible. The thing that bothered Pan the most, though, was that she always spent hours in Trunks' office with the door closed, leaving her to wonder what they were doing.

Pan had been jealous of the tall beauty, whose name she didn't even know, every time she had come out of his office with a satisfied smirk on her face, but she thankfully didn't have to worry about that anymore… at least she thought she didn't. Looking at her boss and the leggy blond as they smiled and greeted each other had her second guessing herself.

"Trunks, dear," she cooed, leaning down and kissing him on the cheek while Pan glared daggers at her. "It's been so long since we last chatted."

"It's only been about a month, Cecilia," he chuckled, finally standing, a slight bulge still apparent in his pants.

 _Cecilia. Well, it's nice to finally put a name to the over painted face_ , Pan thought bitterly.

"Too long," the woman, Cecilia, said again while staring at Trunks with large "fuck me" eyes.

Trunks laughed again before gesturing to Pan and asking, "You remember my personal assistant, Pan Son, don't you?"

Cecilia reluctantly shifted her gaze from Trunks to Pan and gave her the most insincere smile that she had ever seen. "Of course I remember. It's nice to see you again, Pam."

"It's Pan," she corrected through gritted teeth. The blonde ignored her, though, turning back to Trunks and smiling brightly and genuinely. "So, Trunks, do you have a few minutes to talk in private about the new capsule home designs? I could really use someone else's insight."

The lavender-haired man glanced at Pan with uncertain eyes. She wasn't happy about them being alone together and she made sure he could see it on her face; but he either didn't understand or he didn't care because he turned back to Cecilia and said, "Of course, Cecilia. I don't mind taking a look at what you got."

 _You better be talking about her product designs, you oblivious bastard_ , Pan seethed internally. By some miracle, she managed to keep her anger contained as she forced a tight smile and excused herself. "I guess I'll head back to my desk then."

"I'll only be a few minutes, Miss Son," Trunks told her, always the professional.

Pan nodded and walked out the door. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, she heard Cecilia call, "Bye bye, Pam," before shutting the door behind her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _A few minutes, my ass._ "A few minutes" had turned into two hours and Pan's anger had grown with each passing second. She tried to get some work done, but her mind was too preoccupied to focus on anything productive. Lunchtime came and went and she was forced to eat alone. They had made plans to get lunch together, but Trunks had obviously forgotten or he just didn't care. He was probably too busy screwing that slut in the conference room to notice the time. Pan felt angry tears burn the backs of her eyes as she imagined them together.

Her mind couldn't help but jump to the worst possible conclusion. It seemed like the last few years of her life were filled with nothing else; the absolute worst thing that could happen to her, did happen and she was terrified that it was happening again. First she lost one of her best friends, then her mom died and her dad checked out emotionally and now she might lose Trunks a second time to a blonde seductress. If he had been gone a few minutes like he had said he was going to be, Pan wouldn't have been so paranoid; but he had been gone for hours, allowing her doubts and fears to fester.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled her from her dark thoughts. Looking up, she saw Trunks walk in, an apologetic look on his face. Pan's eyes narrowed as she took in his loosened tie and absent suit jacket.

"I'm so sorry, baby. Cecilia had a lot to show me," he apologized.

"Yeah, I bet she did," Pan said through clenched teeth. "And it's Miss Son. We're at work after all, Mr. Brief."

"I know you're mad at me, Pan, but I had to look at the designs she had." He knelt beside her and stared at her with soft innocuous eyes. "It's not too late for us to get lunch. We could try that new-"

"I already ate," she interrupted. "Where's your jacket?"

"My jacket?" Trunks glanced down at his torso and chuckled lightly. "Oh, I guess I left it in the conference room. It was a bit stuffy in there, so I took it off and I must've forgotten it."

"Are you sure someone else didn't take it off for you?" she spat.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Someone el-? Woah, woah, wait a second. Do you think that something happened between me and Cecilia?"

"I don't know what else you expect me to think," Pan snapped. "You were gone for two hours, Trunks. What else could you have been doing with a beautiful woman for two hours?"

"We were working, Pan," Trunks stated. "That's it. I'm her boss and she was showing me her work."

"For two hours?"

"It wasn't supposed to take that long, but every time I tried to leave, she found something else to show me."

"I'm sure she had something other than designs on her mind," Pan growled. "I saw the way she was looking at you, Trunks. She fucking kissed you for god's sake!"

"On the cheek," Trunks told her. "Cecilia has always been a flirt. It's just the way she is."

"Right," she scoffed, looking away from him. "You might want to fix your tie; or is that 'just the way it is'.

"Pan," he gritted out, clearly agitated with her. "Look at me." When she ignored him, he cupped her face and forced her to meet his gaze. "I would never do that to you, Pan. You're it for me. I don't need anyone else. Cecilia flirted with me, yes, but I didn't flirt back and I made sure she knew that I wasn't interested. You were on my mind the whole time I was with her, Panny. I could barely concentrate on the designs right in front of my face. Please, please, please don't make this into something it's not."

Pan's anger began to subside as she stared into his pleading eyes and realized how ridiculous and irrational she was being. "God, I'm sorry Trunks. I guess it was kind of silly of me to think that you would sleep with her," she said with a wan smile. 'I mean, she's your employee. Even you wouldn't cross that line; excluding myself, of course."

This time Trunks was the one to avert his gaze. He stood and turned around so that she was now staring at his back, unable to see his face. "Panny, I need you to not get mad, okay? Just stay calm."

"What is it?" Pan asked nervously, rising from her seat.

She heard Trunks take a deep breath and release it before admitting, "I did sleep with Cecilia."

His words hit her like a freight train, forcing her to sit down again. Pan's heart raced as she repeated what Trunks had said over and over in her mind. _I did sleep with Cecilia, I did sleep with Cecilia, I did sleep with Cecilia_ …

"I knew it," she mumbled, tears blurring her vision.

"I wasn't going to tell you, Pan," Trunks told her, still facing away from her. "She wasn't important to me, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning."

Rage engulfed her again as she listened to him through the blood pounding in her ears. He didn't think it was worth mentioning that he had cheated on her with businesswhore Barbie? Was he a fucking moron?

"That's actually something I would have liked to know," Pan growled, her hands clenching into fists. "I can't believe you lied to me."

Trunks finally turned to face her, shaking his head as he said, "I never lied to you, Pan. I just never told you before now."

"You fucking liar!" she yelled, jumping to her feet and storming toward him. "You looked me right in the eye and told me that you didn't sleep with that whore. She was just showing you her design ideas, remember? It was all a damn lie."

Realization dawned on Trunks' face; Pan had caught him in a lie and he knew it. "No, baby, I didn't mean-"

"Don't call me that," she snapped. "I'm not your 'baby', not anymore. We're done, Trunks."

"Pan, just listen to me. I didn't sleep with her to-"

"You're seriously going to try to deny that you cheated on me?" Pan asked incredulously. "You told me you did! Just now! God, I knew it was stupid to get involved with you, but I did it anyway. Biggest mistake of my life."

Trunks' own anger was palpable as he glared at her with icy blue eyes. "I'm trying to explain things to you, but you're behaving like a child. When you decide to act like an adult, you know where to find me." With that, he retreated to his office, slamming the door behind him.

 _I'm the child?_ _He's the one lying and running away._ Pan stood there for a moment seething before she made up her mind and followed him into his office.

"You're the one acting like a child!" Pan shouted as she pushed open his door and slammed it shut with enough force to rattle the walls. Trunks was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, but he looked up when she entered. "You're the one lying about sleeping with another woman. You fucked Cecilia in the conference room just like you fucked her in here. Every time she came to see you, I knew you two were up to something. Do you screw all your employees, Mr. Brief? Was I just another conquest? Another name to cross off on the employee roster?"

"That's enough, Pan," Trunks said sternly, standing. "You're going to shut up for once and listen to what I have to say. I'm still your boss and you'll do what I tell you to do." Pan glared at him, but didn't say anything. She had said all that she needed to anyway. "I have slept with Cecilia a couple of times, but not since before you started working here and we sure as hell never had sex in my office."

Pan's narrowed eyes widened. "But-"

"I'm not done speaking," he told her, the authoritative tone of his voice shutting her up instantly. "I understand why you thought what you did, but you need to trust me. I would never cheat on you. Never. I've waited to have you for far too long to throw it all away over a meaningless fling. I love you, Pan Son, and no other woman is going to change that."

The dark-haired Saiyan's eyes widened even more until it felt like they were going to pop out of her skull. "You do?" she muttered.

"Yes," he said simply, his eyes boring intensely into hers. "I have for a very long time."

Her throat tightened as emotion overwhelmed her. She felt ashamed for what she had said to him, guilty for not trusting him, but most of all she felt an intense feeling of euphoria. Trunks loved her; he felt the same way she did.

"Bulla was right," she muttered. "She said you loved me, but I didn't believe her."

"Well I do," Trunks asserted. "Even though you jump to conclusions and accuse me of shit that I haven't done, I still love you."

"I love you, too," Pan whispered, "and I'm so sorry for getting jealous."

A warm smile spread across Trunks' face, thawing out the ice in his eyes. He walked out from behind his desk and approached Pan, stopping when he was only inches from her. "Now you know how I felt when you were with that ex of yours."

"Well, I never slept with Paul so I think I have you beat," she remarked. "I should've trusted you, though, and I'm really sorry. I guess all the stuff with my dad has me on edge. You spending two hours alone with a woman who was obviously eye-fucking you just pushed me past my breaking point."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. I should've texted you, but I left my phone in my desk drawer before the meeting."

"So you forgive me?" Pan asked hopefully.

"Of course," Trunks said, pulling her into a tight embrace. "We're both wound a little tight, so I can't hold it against you."

Pan knew what he meant. They were both sexually frustrated and it was wearing on their nerves. "Just a few more hours, right?"

"Yeah, right," he replied, pulling away from her reluctantly. His eyes blazed with the same desire she felt as he stared down at her. Trunks cupped her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb as he told her quietly, "You should probably get back to work."

"Probably," Pan muttered. She _did_ have work to do, tons of it, but the fire in Trunks' eyes held her captive, making it impossible for her to tear herself away from him. "You should, too."

"I should," he agreed with a minuscule nod, his eyes dropping from hers to her lips.

"Yeah."

Swallowing hard, Pan's lips parted under his gaze. She wanted him to close the distance, needed him to. It was barely two in the afternoon; there was no way she would be able to wait until later that night. Almost on its own, her body moved closer to his until they were pressed together, her hands on his chest, the yearning inside of her pulling her toward Trunks when she should have been pulling away from him instead. The movement caused Trunks' eyes to return to hers, his blue orbs seemingly searching for something in her face, permission maybe.

"Fuck, I can't wait," he growled before capturing her lips in a searing, passionate kiss. Pan immediately returned his kiss, the need to be with him again taking over her body and mind.

Trunks' hands slid down her body and gripped her hips while Pan's slid up his chest to encircle his neck. He bit her bottom lip, making her shiver. His tongue flicked out & licked where he had bitten, demanding entrance. Pan opened for him & he wasted no time thrusting his tongue inside. Tilting his head, Trunks deepened the kiss, teasing her tongue with his.

Without breaking their kiss, Trunks lifted Pan, forcing her legs to wrap around his waist, and then he carried her over to his desk and sat her down. Settling between her legs, he began to unbutton her blouse while Pan worked to remove his tie. When he was finished with the buttons, he pushed the shirt off her shoulders, leaving her in a plain white bra. His insistent lips then left Pan's mouth and started kissing down her jaw and slender neck. Pan's head fell back as he sucked and nipped at her pulse point, a breathy moan escaping her lips.

When Trunks' hands found her breasts, he pushed down the cups of her bra, exposing her pert nipples. Then, without warning, his mouth latched onto one of the taut peaks and sucked hard, sending heat throughout her body and straight to her core. Pan whimpered as one of his strong hands massaged her other breast, pinching and pulling at the nipple. Her hands tangled in his hair, gently tugging at the soft strands, while he paid equal attention to both of her breasts.

Somehow Pan's shaking hands managed to remove his tie while he lavished her chest. When it was on the floor, she unbuttoned his dress shirt until it hung loosely off his broad shoulders, his hard chest now visible. When Trunks was finished worshipping her breasts, he pulled away and pressed a bruising kiss to her lips before standing her up.

Turning her around so that her back was to his chest, Trunks bent Pan over his desk and lifted her skirt until it was bunched around her waist. Propped up on her elbows, Pan knew what he had in mind and she couldn't help but be intrigued by the new position. The sound of fabric tearing filled the room and it didn't take long for the raven-haired girl to realize that it was her underwear being torn.

"Trunks!" Pan cried out, glaring over her shoulder at him. "I kind of need those."

"I'm sorry, baby," Trunks said, his voice hoarse with desire. "I just need you so badly." He leaned over her body and kissed her hungrily, her irritation rapidly evaporating.

The sound of his belt hitting the floor reverberated throughout the room, the unmistakable sound of a zipper soon following. Trunks pulled away from her body and dropped his pants, his shirt still hanging from his shoulders. Placing his hands on her hips, Trunks groaned deeply as he entered her slowly from behind, stretching and filling her core completely. Pan closed her eyes as she was overwhelmed with sensation. It only being her second time, Pan was still unused to the intrusion, but the slight burn she felt as he slid inside her was easily overshadowed by pleasure.

When Trunks was buried to the hilt, he stilled, allowing her to adjust to his large size. His hands slid up her back and around her torso, finding her breasts yet again. He kissed her shoulder tenderly while he massaged the soft mounds and tugged on her sensitive nipples, causing Pan to moan and writhe beneath him.

"Trunks, please," she panted. "No more teasing. I'm ready. You can move now."

"Anything for you, baby," Trunks whispered huskily.

The man removed his hands from her breasts and snatched her hips again. He pulled out of her slowly until only the head of his manhood was inside her and then he pushed back in hard and fast, yanking her back against him at the same time. Pan gasped as an explosion of pleasure ripped through her. She had felt filled by him before, but forced into this angle beneath him, his pulsating member was buried so deeply inside her that she could feel it brushing up against something incredible.

She felt one of his hands leave her hips to skim down her bikini line and delve between her legs, finding the hypersensitive bundle of nerves there. Pan cried out as his fingers began to caress her. Trunks thrust into her at a steady rhythm, the slap of their flesh each time they joined driving Pan wild. He pumped into her increasingly harder and faster, his fingers stroking her secret recesses all the while. Every move he made against her felt more intense, more incredible, than the last. "Trunks," she gasped. "Trunks, I'm going to-"

"That's the… point… of this exercise, Miss Son," he grunted, his words punctuated by his thrusts.

"Please, I need to," she begged. "Please."

"Not yet," he murmured.

Pan felt the pressure building within her and another caress along her clitoris threatened to push her over the edge. Trunks, however, had other plans. He removed his fingers from between her slick legs and grasped her inner thigh, using it to turn her over while simultaneously pushing her further up the desk so that she was lying flat on her back. He held her leg against his chest and took her at a new, devastating angle. There was nothing she could do but watch as he grasped her elevated ankle and slammed into her with hard, rapid strokes.

 **Trunks' POV**

Seeing the way their bodies came together repeatedly as he thrust into her turned Trunks on more than he thought it would. The sound of their ragged breathing and moans filled his office. He felt his impending release rise higher and higher as he drove into Pan harder and harder, faster and faster. Trunks could feel Pan's walls flutter around his pulsating manhood, letting him know that she was close as well.

Unable to hold back any longer, Trunks' free hand delved between Pan's legs and rubbed her swollen nub furiously. Pan cried out and gripped her own hair as he felt her inner muscles clench harder around his swollen member. His strokes became wild and desperate as he approached his climax, which came seconds later. Moaning, he stilled and emptied himself into her tight crevice. Pan followed a moment later, his release triggering her own. She bit her lip, suppressing a scream, as her walls tightened around his shaft, intensifying his orgasm. When it had passed, Trunks fell forward onto his hands, exhausted but sated.

"Wow," Pan giggled breathlessly. "I can't believe we just did that."

"Why?" Trunks panted, his heart still beating rapidly in his chest. "It's not like we haven't done it before."

"Not in your office," she clarified. "What if someone had come in?"

"What if they had? It's not like I can get fired for having sex in my office. I kind of own the place."

Pan laughed again. "That's not the point. I'd rather not get caught sleeping with my boss/stepbrother. That'd be one hell of a way for people to find out about us, don't you think?"

Trunks chuckled and stood up, pulling out of Pan slowly. "Fine. I'll make sure to lock the door next time," he said while pulling up his pants and buttoning his shirt.

"We're not going to make a habit out of this, Trunks," she told him, sitting up.

"I could always add it to your list of office duties," Trunks smirked.

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure getting paid to sleep with you in your office would make me a prostitute."

"Well, we wouldn't be sleeping per se-"

"Trunks!"

"Okay, okay," he laughed. "How about we only do it on Casual Friday; or, better yet, Hump Day?"

"Oh, God." Pan groaned and dropped her head into her hands, but Trunks saw her shoulders shaking lightly in laughter, which gave him hope that she was at least considering it. Finished redressing, Trunks moved between Pan's legs again, pulling her hands away from her face to reveal an amused smile. "You're insane, Trunks Brief."

"You can be a little crazy yourself," he retorted, "but I still love you."

"I love you, too," she said quietly, "sane or not."

Gripping the back of her neck, Trunks guided Pan's mouth to his for a slow, unhurried kiss.

It had taken them years to get there, but they had finally arrived. They were finally where they belonged. Trunks wished more than anything that he could redo the last four years and spend them with Pan. He couldn't go back and change time, though; all he could do was regret the time they had lost.

There were still obstacles laid out in front of them, hurdles that needed to be overcome, but Trunks knew that his place was with Pan. Society, their parents… they might not agree with him, might say their relationship was wrong and taboo, but to him it was perfect.

 **Author's Note:**

Did you like it? Hate it? Either way, leave a review & let me know. I really like to write in Trunks' POV. Having four brothers, I find it quite easy to think like a man. Lol. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update next week because of Independence Day here in the good ol' US of A. I'll be out of town for a few days visiting family & I won't have time to write :( Hopefully this chapter will tide you guys over for awhile, though. I made it extra long for you. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. See you then!

P.S. To all of my American readers, I hope you all have a safe & fun Fourth of July! To all of my non-American readers, I still hope you enjoy your Fourth of July, even though you don't get fireworks & probably have to work. I'll light extra sparklers for you! :) Oh, & happy Canada Day to my Canadian readers! (I'm looking at you Aaliyah)

-Chels xoxo


	16. Marry You

**Hey guys! I hope y'all didn't miss me too much. Although, judging by the lack of reviews for last chapter, I don't think ya did. The chapter wasn't that bad, was it? Oh well. It was somewhat discouraging, but I'm not going to let it keep me from continuing this story. I did get a few more reviews after awhile so it cheered me up some. This chapter picks up right after the last one.**

 **Perfect is another song by Marianas Trench.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I was hoping to fool you guys into thinking Trunks cheated on Pan. Lol. Of course, he would never do that to her. Hope you had a nice Fourth of July, hon :) I spent most of mine cooking, but I still enjoyed it :)**

 **To Lordshuvra: I'm glad you liked the chapter :) The pain in my thumb comes & goes, but it's bearable most of the time. Thank you for another sweet review :)**

 **To Majin Hazaa: I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Thanks for your support, girl! :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Don't worry, your review made sense to me. Lol. Cecilia never had a chance with Trunks. He's head over heels for Pan. I was so nervous about that sex scene, so I'm relieved that you liked it. I agree with you on that being every girl's fantasy. Well, every girl with a hot boss at least. Lol.**

 **The last time I saw a picture of Josh Ramsey was on their newest album cover. That was a few months ago, though. Did he change his hair yet again or something? Lol.**

 **Seriously. That Mai/Trunks thing is just gross. I hope Akira comes to his senses & changes it. I can't wait for the dub. It can't come fast enough.**

 **To Dbzlover: Thanks for your review, hon! I like your baby names. If you don't mind me stealing them, then I'll definitely consider using them, especially the girl name. Thanks again :)**

 **Chapter Sixteen: Marry You**

 **Pan's POV:**

"I guess you can't say you've never had sex in your office anymore," Pan pointed out while buttoning her blouse.

"True," Trunks chuckled from behind her. Pan could feel his eyes on her as he watched her redress. "But I really wish I couldn't say I've only done it once."

"Never going to happen, Brief," she told him, smiling to herself at his persistence.

Pan heard footsteps approaching her. A moment later she felt Trunks' chest pressing against her back, his muscled arms encircling her small waist. Her eyes closed as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent.

"Never say never, Panny," he said against her skin, his warm breath causing a shiver to run down her spine. "I'm sure you never thought we would do what we just did at all, but here we are."

"Here we are," Pan repeated. "We won't be here again, though."

"Didn't you have a good time? If you didn't, tell me and I'll never bring it up again." She remained silent, unable to deny the intense pleasure he had given her, the after effects of which she still felt. A smug tone entered Trunks' voice at her silence. "That's what I thought. So, why not have a repeat performance? We can even do it right now."

Pan's eyes flew open when she felt his manhood, hard and throbbing, at the base of her back. "You're insatiable," she giggled, moving out of his arms and turning around to face him. "How about we put this conversation on the back burner and focus on our jobs, huh? That's kind of what we're here to do."

"We can take breaks," Trunks told her. "In fact, the law encourages it."

"We've had enough breaks for today. I want to get some work done, so I can go home."

"Home," he echoed, a smile tugging at his lips. "Home has beds. You know, I'm suddenly very eager to get home myself."

"Before you get any ideas-" Pan started.

"Too late."

"Well, Gohan and Videl are coming over for dinner tonight, so whatever you're planning has to wait until later tonight. Way later."

"They are?"

"Yup," she replied.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Gohan sent me a text at lunch," Pan clarified. "He wants to order pizza and just hang out. I was going to tell you sooner, but then that whore happened."

She felt herself getting irritated again as she remembered the smug smile on the blonde bitch's face, her condescending words and most of all, the way she looked at Trunks. Pan wished that she could rub her relationship with Trunks in Cecilia's over painted face and she assured herself that one day she would. Part of her, a more primal part, also wished that the blonde woman would've walked into the office while Trunks was taking her on his desk, owning her, claiming her. He was hers and one day Cecilia and everyone else would know it.

"Pan?"

Trunks' voice pulled the raven-haired girl from her angry- and somewhat lewd- thoughts. "What?"

"Don't let Cecilia bother you, okay?" he said. "She's just one of my employees. She means nothing to me, so you don't need to worry about anything happening between me and her again."

"Okay," Pan told him. "I can't promise I won't kick her ass, though, if I see her touching you again."

"I might let her touch me if it means a girl fight," Trunks stated with a smirk. He chuckled when Pan narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed at his sexist joke. "I'm kidding, babe. Even though you're sexy as hell when you're jealous, I'd hate to face your wrath again."

"Even if it does lead to great make up sex afterwards?" Pan asked teasingly, her annoyance dissipating.

"Well, when you put it that way…"

The purple-headed Saiyan moved toward her, his outstretched arms reaching for her, but Pan placed her palm on his chest, stopping him.

"No more, Trunks," she scolded. "Get back to work."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, giving her a mock salute before seating himself behind his desk. Pan shook her head and laughed lightly as she headed back to her own desk to tackle the pile of work waiting for her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Three hours later, Pan's workload was almost nonexistent and she was on her way home. Trunks had stayed behind to finish his own work, but he had assured her that he would be home in time for dinner. When she walked through the front door of Capsule Corp, she heard voices coming from the kitchen. With a bright smile on her face, Pan followed the sound until she found Gohan, his wife Videl, Goten and Bulla standing around the kitchen island. They all turned their heads toward her as she approached them.

"There's my baby sister," Gohan beamed, stepping forward to hug her tightly.

"Hey, old man," Pan joked. She enjoyed teasing him about their large age difference every chance she got. "Break any of your brittle bones since the last time I saw you?"

Her brother chuckled as he released her from his embrace. "No, but Videl swears I'm starting to get gray hairs."

Videl giggled from beside him. "He is. I'm going to have to buy him some hair dye soon, I think." She leaned forward to exchange a quick embrace with Pan before asking, "How've you been, sweetie?"

"Great," the younger woman replied, smiling. Her sister-in-law was one of the sweetest women she knew and Pan always enjoyed having her around. The fact that she reminded Pan of her mother was just a bonus. "How about you?"

"Busy, as always, but that's a good thing. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had a lot of free time on my hands."

The two women laughed and then began to chat animatedly until Goten interrupted them. "Enough clucking hens." Pan and Videl both shot a glare at him, but said nothing. "I'm starving. What kind of pizza does everyone want?"

"Just cheese for me," Pan told him.

Goten scrunched up his nose as if he smelled something bad. "Just cheese?" he repeated, disgust evident in his tone. "Pizza without meat on it doesn't count as a meal, little sister."

Rolling her eyes, Pan huffed out, "Fine. Throw whatever amount of meat you think is acceptable on there then."

"One meat lovers with extra meat coming right up," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Whatever," she sighed, already exasperated with her immature sibling.

"So where's Trunks?" Gohan asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Working late?"

"Yup," Pan answered. "He should be back soon, though."

"He's not working you too hard is he?" her oldest brother asked worriedly.

Pan couldn't help blushing as his words triggered memories of that afternoon. Trunks had certainly worked her over pretty good, but she wasn't about to tell Gohan that. Bulla obviously noticed the touch of pink on her cheeks, because she smirked knowingly at Pan from across the room. The bluenette didn't know what had happened only hours earlier- how could she?- but she probably had her suspicions.

"Not too hard, no," Pan replied, clearing her throat.

"That's good," Gohan said. "I wouldn't want him tiring you out."

 _Too late for that_ , she thought. Pan felt her blush darken and she prayed no one in the room- besides Bulla, of course- noticed. She moved to the cupboards and hid behind the doors as she searched for a glass.

"Leave Panny alone, Gohan," Goten chimed in. "You're starting to sound like Mom."

Pan smiled wistfully as she pulled a cup from the shelves. "You kind of are," she agreed, turning to look at Gohan.

"Well, I guess someone has to feel the void she left behind," he said sadly.

"Those are big shoes to fill," Videl added, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Gohan. God knows Dad couldn't." Pan felt her anger rise as she thought of her father and his absence during the hardest time of her life.

"Pan, please don't start," Gohan said.

"Don't you guys care at all that he was barely around after Mom died?" she snapped.

"Dad tried his best," Goten commented, sounding like as if he didn't believe that statement.

"His best?" Pan scoffed. "That's a joke."

"You know what," Bulla began, "I think this conversation is between you three. Videl and I are just going to go to the living room before Pan starts throwing stuff." Pan narrowed her eyes at her best friend as she grabbed Videl's hand and pulled her out of the room.

"Panny." Her eyes moved back to her oldest brother, who was rubbing his temples, obviously not in the mood to have this conversation. "You're not the only one whose upset with the way Dad handled Mom's death."

"He didn't really 'handle' it, though, did he, Gohan?" Goten muttered, anger seeping into his tone, surprising Pan. _So they resent our father, too._

"No," the other man sighed. "He didn't."

"If you guys are mad at him, too, then why haven't you ever said anything?" Pan asked. "You never once spoke up when I called him out on his bullshit."

"He's still our father, Pan," Gohan told her. "We have to respect him. He's not a bad person. He's just not perfect. The way he dealt with Mom's death wasn't the best way for us, but he was hurting, too. Losing the love of your life has to be a different pain compared to losing a parent. As a married man, I can only imagine what he went through."

"I can't believe you're defending him," she balked. "Pain is pain and instead of staying with us and finding the strength to heal as a family, he abandoned us to deal with it on his own. That wasn't fair, especially to me."

"What do you mean?" the older Saiyan inquired, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"You had Videl to help you get through Mom's death," Pan clarified. "Goten, you had whoever you were dating at the time. But I had no one. My mom had just died and I had no one to tell me it would be all right. I was alone." Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "For the longest time, I felt like I could disappear & no one would even notice."

"We would've noticed, Panny," Goten stated. Gohan nodded in agreement.

"Maybe, but how long would it have taken you?" The two men remained silent, unsure of what to say. "We grieved together. I had you two to help me for awhile, but eventually you found comfort in other people. I don't blame you. At least you were there for me for a little while. Dad wasn't there at all."

"Hey, everybody." Three sets of eyes turned their attention to the kitchen entrance where Trunks stood, his gaze focused on Pan and concern evident on his face. "Every thing all right in here?"

"Every thing is fine," Pan lied, turning her face away to quickly wipe away the unshed tears in her eyes.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"Not at all," she lied again, looking at him once more with a tight lipped smile. He stared at her for a moment longer and then shrugged.

"Okay then," Trunks said, dropping the subject. His eyes, however, telling Pan that he wasn't convinced and that they weren't done talking about this.

A few moments later, Videl and Bulla rejoined them in the kitchen. The tense vibe soon faded as easy chatter and laughter filled the room again and echoed off the walls. Pan allowed herself to forget about her anger for awhile and enjoy the company of the people she cared about the most. When the pizza arrived, they sat around the kitchen table and ate their fill, their conversation never ceasing.

"Wait, I've got another one," Goten began. "What did one ocean say to the other?" No one said anything, prompting him to continue. "Nothing, they just waved. _Sea_ what I did there?"

The kitchen was silent for a moment before everyone erupted into laughter, mostly at the ridiculousness of Goten's joke.

"That was terrible, man," Trunks chuckled.

"Not as terrible as your face," the other boy deadpanned, causing everyone to laugh harder.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Later that night, after Gohan and Videl left and Goten and Bulla were asleep in their beds, Pan snuck into Trunks' room to find him still awake and waiting for her. He smiled lovingly at her as she crossed the room and threw herself into his open arms. When their lips came together, Pan forgot about the conversation she had had with her brothers, about her anger and sadness. Her entire being was focused on the man holding her, the one soothing her with the touch of his lips and gentle caress of his hands. When they made love, it was slow and tender, the exact opposite of their lust-fueled frenzy earlier, though just as intense. After, as they lay side by side, panting and exhausted, Trunks pulled her close and held her in a tight embrace.

"I would have noticed," she heard Trunks whisper when their breathing had returned to normal and their heartbeats had steadied.

"What?" Pan asked, confused.

"I heard what you said to Gohan and Goten earlier," he admitted, "I know I pretended that I didn't, but I did. The end of it at least. You told him that for a long time, you felt like you could disappear and no one would notice. Well, I would have; and you better believe I would've scoured the universe trying to find you."

"Really?" She felt her throat constrict at Trunks's words and the conviction in his voice

"Of course," he answered. "I hate that you felt that way after your mom died, but you weren't as alone as you thought you were, Panny."

"I definitely don't feel alone now," Pan told him, squeezing him tighter.

"Someday…" he trailed off.

"Someday what?" she asked.

Trunks fell silent, so long so that Pan thought that he had fallen asleep. She started to drift off herself when the sound of his voice reached her ears once again.

"Someday, Pan Son, I'm going to marry you," he finally finished.

Pan didn't say anything, convinced that she had actually fallen asleep and that this was all a dream. When he continued to speak, however, she realized she was very much awake. His voice whispered, sibilant and penetrating deep into her soul, "I want your heart, your soul, your love. Forever," he said. "In return I'll keep you safe and protected, cared for and cherished."

His words stole the breath from her lungs and brought tears to her eyes. This man wanted her, all of her, forever. Sure, it was too soon to be saying those kinds of things- they had only been officially together for a few days- but they had known each other for years; and during those years, Trunks had proven how selfless, caring and protective he could be. What more could she ask for in a future husband? Trunks was it for her. She had tried to love other boys, but failed. Her heart belonged to him; it had always belonged to him.

The young Saiyan sat up and stared into the crystal blue eyes of the man who had stolen her heart. "If that's a proposal, I accept. If not, then I'll accept in the future, because damn right, I'm going to marry you too. Somehow."

Reaching up, Trunks gripped the back of Pan's neck and pulled her back down to him, capturing her mouth in a searing, passionate kiss. When they finally broke apart, their hearts beating rapidly and their lungs burning from lack of oxygen, Trunks moved his hand from her neck to cup her cheek and grinned.

"Pan Son, will you marry me?" he asked, his eyes burning with an intense heat as he spoke. "Even if you decide that you never want to tell our parents about us, even if it's never filed with a court and we're the only ones who ever know. Will you be my wife?"

"Of course," Pan breathed out, a couple tears escaping from her eyes.

" I don't have a ring yet," Trunks continued, "but I promise I'll get you one soon."

"All I need is you," she whispered, before leaning down for another kiss, which he eagerly reciprocated, their love and commitment to each other clear in every caress of their lips.

 **Author's Note:**

How was it? I know it was short, but I had to end it there. Took me a little longer than I planned to get done. My friend & I went to the beach on Thursday & I got a really bad sunburn. I'm more Portuguese than anything, but I got my dad's Irish skin, so I burn real easily. It hurts to move, especially walk, & it really sucks :/ Anyway…go ahead & leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter. Seven more until we hit 100 reviews! Let's make it happen people. Since my updates have been inconsistent lately, I'm not going to have an update schedule for about a week or two. Not until I can get myself on track again. I've been so busy that it's been hard. Hopefully I'll get back to my weekly updates after my birthday next Friday. I'll definitely see you guys soon, though!

-Chels xoxo


	17. Two Pink Lines

**Hey guys! I'm back- & a year older, too. Sorry for taking a long time to get chapter seventeen out. I wanted to make sure the chaos of last month was over before I got to work on it. Then when I did start writing, I got hit with a major case of writer's block. I couldn't figure out how to put what was in my head on paper, so to speak. **

**This chapter is the beginning of the end. Twenty or twenty-one will probably be the last update for this little story of mine. I hope you guys like what's to come!**

 **Marry You is by Bruno Mars.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Thanks for the review & the birthday wishes :) After weeks of peeling, I am officially sunburn free. Lol. I already know what I want Pan's ring to be and you may or may not have already guessed it ;)**

 **To Lordshuvra: I'm glad you liked the marriage idea. I'm sorry the chapter was so short, though :/ Thank you as always for your review :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: I love Gohan & Goten. I should've made the conversation longer, though. Maybe I'll go back one day & add to it. Goku & Bulma will be in this chapter, along with Goten and a bit of Gohan. As for Vegeta… I really wasn't planning on him being in the story, aside from that little flashback in one of the earlier chapters. If I can work it in somehow, though, I will. There will be some wedding talk at least in this chapter. **

**I'll have to look up some pictures of Josh. I hope it's not as bad as you say. Lol.**

 **Seriously. I don't care how young she looks, Mai is super old. I doubt I'll think they're a cute couple, either. It's just too weird. Lol. Oh, thanks for the birthday wishes! :)**

 **To CrazyGirl92: Thanks for you review, hon! I really appreciate it :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: The talk with her brothers was long overdue. It's okay that you didn't review chapter fifteen. I hope you liked it, though :) I'm sorry it took me so long to get this one out.**

 **Chapter Seventeen: Two Pink Lines**

 **Trunks' POV**

 _ **Five Weeks Later- September**_

"No, none of these look right, either." Trunks sighed as he walked away from the display case of a local jewelry store. "Thanks anyway," he called over his shoulder to the saleswoman that had helped him, or that had tried to at least.

It had been a few weeks since Trunks and Pan had become secretly engaged and he still couldn't find the perfect ring for her. He had found some kind of flaw with every single ring he'd looked at so far; it was too small, too big, too gaudy, too plain. Nothing seemed good enough for his future wife, his fiancée. The lavender-haired man smiled softly to himself as he thought about Pan becoming his wife for the umpteenth time that month.

He still couldn't believe that she had agreed to marry him. His proposal- if you could even call it that- was far from romantic. Sure, his words were pretty, he had said all the right things, but she deserved more than that. A candlelit dinner in Paris maybe or perhaps a stroll on the beaches of Hawaii while the moon shone bright overhead. The flame of the candles or the moonlight would have bounced off the diamond of the most perfect engagement ring as he got down on one knee and asked her to be his forever…

All Pan got, though, was a half-assed proposal while they were both bare-assed in bed. He didn't even have a ring for her and it was starting to look like he never would. Pan kept insisting she didn't need one, but Trunks was determined to put a symbol of their love and commitment to one another on her finger.

Trunks sighed again as he glanced at the setting sun. As much as he wanted to keep looking for rings, he couldn't. His mother had called him earlier and asked him to be home before dinner. She and his stepfather had just come back from another one of their mystery trips and they apparently had something very important to tell him and the others. It was their third trip in the last month, each one lasting no more than two or three days, and Trunks still didn't know where they were going or what they were up to. True, he never asked his mother outright, but she never volunteered the information, either, which seemed odd to him. He hoped whatever his mom had to tell them would include where she and Goku had been going. If not, he would finally ask them himself.

Sighing for a third time, Trunks got into his car and headed toward Capsule Corp. As he sped home, the young Saiyan felt the stress and frustration from the day's unsuccessful outing leave his body as he got closer and closer to the woman who would someday become his wife.

 **Pan's POV**

"Ugh."

Pan wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. Standing from her crouched position, she moved to the sink and washed her hands and rinsed out her mouth as she listened to the contents of her stomach disappear down the drain. Drying her hands on a wash cloth, she groaned as another wave of nausea overcame her. Squeezing her eyes shut, the raven-haired girl breathed in and out deeply, praying that she wouldn't vomit again. She had been feeling queasy for a couple of days now and it seemed as if all her time was spent in the bathroom, throwing up what little food she had managed to eat. Trunks, of course, noticed her sickly state right away, but she brushed off his concern, saying that it was probably something she ate. At the time, she believed her words; now she wasn't so sure.

When her stomach had finally settled, Pan opened her eyes again and opened the cabinet below the sink, pulling out a pink box hidden away behind a pile of toiletries. She bought it at a drugstore down the street that morning, taking advantage of Trunks being gone. Pan had hoped that she wouldn't have to use it, optimistic that it was just the flu or food poisoning, but she was starting to doubt that was the case.

Pan stared at the box in her hands, scared of what it might reveal, but needing an answer. There were only two outcomes: one would put her mind at ease and the other would change her entire life forever. Figuring it was better to find out sooner rather than later, Pan said a silent prayer and tore the box open with trembling fingers.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Honey, I'm home," Trunks announced, walking into the living room where Pan had been sitting for the past hour. He smiled as he sat down beside her on the couch, but it quickly faded as he took in her distressed state. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Of course," Pan lied, trying and failing to smile.

"Somehow I don't believe you," he said. Trunks reached up and held the back of his hand against her forehead in a vain attempt to figure out what was wrong with her. "Your forehead doesn't feel warm, but you're white as a sheet. Are you still feeling sick?"

Pan nodded. "A little."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor, Panny," Trunks suggested.

"No!" she half-shouted, her loud outburst causing Trunks' eyes to widen in surprise. Pan blushed slightly and cleared her throat. "It's just food poisoning," she told him again. "I'm sure I'll be better soon."

But it wasn't food poisoning. It was something far more scary and if she saw a doctor, they would quickly discover the real cause of her nausea and then Trunks would find out. Pan didn't want him to find out that way; she wanted to be the one to tell him. She just didn't know how or when.

"Ok then," Trunks said after a moment. "If you're sure." A few more moments passed, both of them sitting in silence, before he added, "Are you sure there's nothing else that's bothering you?"

Pan's heart began to beat rapidly. _Can he tell?_ she thought, frightened. She wasn't ready for him to know, scared of how he might react. Scared he might leave her, if he knew.

"No," she finally squeaked out. "There's nothing else."

"You look worried, Pan," the man next to her commented. "If something's the matter, you need to tell me so that I can fix it." Pan just shook her head while thinking, _You can't fix this._ Trunks sighed- something he had been doing a lot lately, she noticed- and added. "I think I might know what the problem is."

"You do?" Pan gasped out, fear gripping her heart.

"Yes," Trunks replied. "You're worried about everyone finding out about us, aren't you? About the engagement?"

Pan exhaled the breath she had been holding in relief. He didn't know. Her secret was still safe. When she thought about it, though, his words weren't too far from the truth. She didn't care if her father or his mother approved of their relationship or not, but she still couldn't find the right words- or the courage- to tell them. The day was fast approaching when she would have to, however, and she almost looked forward to it, to the liberation she would feel after that day had passed and everyone, not just Bulla, knew about her and Trunks. They would no longer have to sneak around or hide their love. Everyone from their parents to Cecilia would know that they belonged to each other and only each other. Until that day, though, they would just have to continue to keep their love a secret.

"Yeah," she finally agreed. "I guess I don't know how to tell them that we've been dating for over a month, let alone that we're planning to get married."

"We don't have to tell them," Trunks told her.

"What?" she asked, her brow scrunching in confusion.

"We could always have a secret wedding," he suggested. "Maybe find one of those little white chapels and have a simple ceremony, just you and me."

"A secret wedding." A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as Pan entertained the idea. The thought of running off with Trunks and eloping excited Pan, but she knew that deep down it wasn't what she wanted. More importantly, it wasn't what her mother would have wanted for her. Her mom always talked about her own wedding to her father. About the joy of sharing that experience with their friends and family and how she couldn't wait for Pan to experience that herself. It saddened her greatly that her mother would never see her walk down the aisle. Shaking her head, she said, "No. When I become your wife, I want to do it in front of everyone we care about."

Trunks smiled. "I like that idea more."

"Oh, and Cecilia, too," she added, smiling vindictively. "Make sure you invite her, so that she can share in the merriment." _And so that I can put her in her place._

Even though she didn't say that last part out loud, it was clear Trunks knew the real reason Pan wanted to invite the blonde woman.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Whatever you want, babe."

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers, his kiss long and gentle. Pan's arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer, the touch of his lips against hers calming her nerves, while Trunks' hands found their way into her long, dark hair. After only a few blissful moments tangled together, Pan suddenly pulled away and pushed him back.

"Someone's coming," she told him with wide eyes, the sound of footsteps approaching becoming louder with each passing second.

Before Pan could even blink, Trunks had moved away from her and had seated himself on the other end of the couch. She only had enough time to fix her disheveled hair before Goten wandered into the room.

"Ring-a-ding-ding, kiddos," he greeted, a large grin plastered on his face. "We have been summoned."

"Summoned?" Pan inquired, confused, .

"Kiddos?" Trunks asked. "I'm older than you, moron."

Goten shrugged. "Only by a year. I think everyone would agree, though, that I'm definitely more mature than you."

"In your dreams," the other boy snorted.

"No, my dreams are a little more X-rated actually," her brother informed them with a smirk.

"Oh, God," Pan groaned, feeling her stomach roil at that information. "In my opinion, you're both immature. Now can you please tell us what the hell you meant by 'we have been summoned'."

"I would, but you're being kind of mean, Panny," Goten teased.

"Goten," she warned.

"Geez, you're no fun today," he said under his breath before finally answering her question. "Dad and Bulma want to see us in the dining room for that family meeting or whatever it is."

"Damn," Pan cursed. "Do you have any idea what they want?

"Nope," he replied. "I can't think of a thing."

Trunks snorted. "No surprise there."

"Shut it, Brief," Goten told him. "I love you, man, but that doesn't mean I won't still kick your ass."

"Like you even can," his friend shot back.

"How about I show you right now?" the other boy threatened.

"Will you two shut the hell up already?" Pan snapped, annoyed. "Let's get this stupid thing over with."

"Fine," Goten said, "but this isn't over, Brief."

"Yeah, yeah," Trunks muttered.

He and Pan got to their feet and followed Goten out of the living room and toward the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen by a swinging door. As they pushed through that door, Pan couldn't help but hope that whatever it was that her dad and Bulma had to say wouldn't take too long.

Over the past few weeks, Pan's relationship with her father and stepmother had not improved. She was civil with them and they with her, but the tension between them was still there, palpable and unresolved.

Another reason Pan was eager to get it over with was because she was starting to feel sick again. After that afternoon's surprising revelation, her nausea had quelled temporarily, replaced with anxiety and fear. Now that her initial shock was wearing off, however, the queasy feeling in her stomach was making itself known again. The smell of the food that Bulma had cooking in the kitchen wasn't helping matters either.

Entering the dining room, Pan was surprised to find her oldest brother seated at the table beside Bulla and her dad and stepmom. "Gohan? What're you doing here?"

"I invited him," Goku answered for him. "Bulma and I have news that you all should hear."

 _I hope they're going to tell us they're getting a divorce_ , Pan thought without an ounce of shame or guilt.

"What's the news?" Gohan asked.

Goku turned to Bulma and smiled. "You should be the one to tell them."

"Okay, dear," she replied, smiling back at him.

The whole exchange was enough to make Pan sicker than she already was. Nausea started to overwhelm her as Bulma began to speak, drawing her attention away from the bluenette as she focused on not vomiting right there on the table. She caught a few words like "Parsley City" and "specialist", but the rest fell on deaf ears as Pan tried to ease the sick feeling bubbling in her stomach.

Pan's thoughts wandered back to earlier that day, to the test she had taken. It was a simple test, but one that could possibly carry major implications; and carry them it did. In hindsight, she shouldn't have been as surprised as she was. She could have kicked herself for not realizing sooner how late she was. When she saw that two pink lines had formed on the small white stick, though, Pan almost broke down in tears.

What should have been a happy moment, was tainted with dread. The thing that scared her the most was that Trunks would abandon her and then she'd be alone again. Tears pricked at the backs of Pan's eyes as that same dread began to fill her again. _What if he doesn't want to be with me when he finds out? God, how do I even tell him? How do I tell him that I'm- I'm-?"_

"I'm pregnant."

The raven-haired girl's eyes popped open when those two words were spoken; however, she wasn't the one who had said them. All eyes were on Bulma's smiling face, each pair wide and surprised.

"You're what?" Pan whispered, praying that she had heard wrong. Bulma's next words crushed that hope, though.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated. "You're going to have a new brother or sister. Isn't that wonderful?"

 _No. No, it isn't._

 **Author's Note:**

Not my best chapter, but it has been a few weeks, so I'm a little rusty. What'd you all think? Good? Bad? Worth the wait? Let me know! I'll have the whole story on how Bulma got pregnant next chapter, but I'm sure y'all can figure it out. I will try to update again next Wed/Thu. Until then…

-Chels xoxo


	18. What Hurts the Most

**Hey, everyone! I'm sorry it took me longer than expected to get this chapter out. I know I said that I'd have it posted the week before last, but after not writing for two months, it was kind of hard to get back on the metaphorical horse. I got it out just in time for Halloween, though. Enjoy the treat :)**

 **Thank you to everyone who understood my decision to take a break from this story. I didn't mean for it to be such a long break, but I needed time after my friend's death. The author's note I posted right after Adam died said I would update the next week, but that was before I learned that he might not have killed himself. His dad told me it was suicide, but his mom didn't think so. Adam was hit by a train & we all thought that he intended for it to hit him. His mom, however, thinks it was an accident. He drank a lot because of his depression & he walked the railroad tracks all the time, especially going to & from work. According to his mom, the day he died, he left the house drunk & without his glasses… & that's all we know for sure. He could just have been crossing the tracks for all we know. It was ruled as a suicide, but we'll never truly know & that really bothered me; it still does. I had to block him from my facebook, because I was assaulted by pictures of him every other day. It was pretty tough.**

 **The way Adam died is especially tragic because it might have been an accident, but if it wasn't, it's still especially tragic because it could have been prevented. If people were more supportive & tolerant, an amazing, bright, charismatic, intelligent, witty & hilarious person would still be alive, making us all smile & making the world a better place just for having him in it. For those of you who maybe didn't understand why I was having such a hard time writing, there you go. There's your reason. I think all of you understood, though, so, again, thank you.**

 **I'm sorry if I bummed y'all out. I just thought I owed you an explanation for my absence & I couldn't really explain without giving you the full story. Let's get to a better story, huh? This chapter has been a long time coming. I hope you enjoy it :)**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: I love all your questions & suggestions. Of course I can't answer them, though, without spoiling things. Lol. You'll see everyone's reactions to Bulma's news in this chapter. Also, if Trunks & Pan do get married, I'm not going to have Vegeta walk Pan down the aisle- although I totally agree that it would be a great way to get back at Goku- mainly because Trunks resents him for leaving, so I doubt he'd want him there. The rest of your questions will be answered in later chapters. Thank you for the review & the support. Oh, & the friend request. Lol :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Hey, hon! Thanks for the reviews. You're so sweet. I know you told me to ignore the first one, but I still feel bad that I made you wait so long for the next chapter. I've been so preoccupied lately that I just barely read all the reviews for the last one. If I had read them sooner, I would've definitely reached out to you. Sometimes it seemed like it would have been easier to talk to someone who didn't know Adam, but I'd known him for so long that everyone in my life knew him; he was practically family. It's hard to be comforted by people who are also sad because they're looking for comfort, too. It would've been great to talk to someone who didn't know him. Anywho, enough of that.**

 **All the answers you want are coming up. Finally, right? Lol.**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: It is pretty awkward for both Pan & Bulma to be pregnant, huh? Maybe it won't be so bad, though. Sorry it took me months to update, but better late than never, right? :)**

 **To Lordshuvra: It was pretty wicked, huh? I don't know where I get these ideas, but I'm glad you're enjoying it. Everyone will find out about Pan in the near future ;)**

 **To Majin Hezaa: Thanks for the "happy birthday" & a very belated happy birthday to you, too. Also, congrats on the new job! I knew that most of you- if not all- would be able to guess the topic of the chapter based on the title. I didn't want it to be obvious, but I was in a rush to get the chapter out because I was already running late, so that's what I went with. Oh, well. I'm sure none of you guessed that both Pan **_**&**_ **Bulma would get pregnant. Lol. Pan isn't going to react the way you might think, but she will definitely react ;)**

 **To Shortie87: I wasn't planning on Videl getting pregnant right now- can you imagine her, Bulma, & Pan being pregnant at the same time?- but I was thinking about maybe working it into the epilogue or something. We'll see ;) I'm glad you find my story interesting. I hope to keep it that way. Haha. Thanks for the review!**

 **To destiny18-au: Hey! Thank you for the sweet review. I wish I would've read it sooner rather than a few days ago. Lol. I'd have loved to talk to you. I'm so sorry that you've lost so many friends. Adam was the first friend I lost, so it hit me hard. I couldn't imagine going through it multiple times. I hope I don't have to. PM me anytime if you like (I always forget to PM people :/) Thanks again for the review :)**

 **To Lindadbzgirl: Lol. Yeah, pretty gross. It definitely complicates things. Hope you like what's coming up. Thanks for the review, hon!**

 **To Fan: Bulma being pregnant at the same time as Pan does mess things up, but maybe it won't be as bad as you think. Keep reading & find out :) Thank you for the review, by the way!**

 **Chapter Eighteen: What Hurts the Most**

 **Pan's POV:**

Pan's head spun, Bulma's unexpected words playing over and over in her mind. _I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant…_ but so was she. The petite Saiyan's body began to go numb- a defense mechanism that she was all too familiar with- as her stepmother's news, as well as her own recent revelation, overwhelmed her.

Bulma's pregnancy ruined everything. The life she began to envision with Trunks ended before it had even really begun. How could they possibly be together when his mother was going to give birth to a child that would be biologically related to both Pan and Trunks. Their families would forever be bonded through blood, not just marriage. The relationship they had would become even more taboo, so much so that she didn't think it would ever be accepted.

Realizing that she was still standing, Pan sat down slowly. Trunks followed suit, filling the empty seat to her right, Goten on her left. Under the table, she felt Trunks squeeze her thigh comfortingly, as if sensing her distress.

"How?" Pan muttered, her voice void of emotion, her eyes focused on her small hands atop the table.

"What's that, dear?" Bulma asked, obviously not having heard her quiet question.

Pan's eyes flitted in the direction of the bluenette, narrowing slightly. "How did this happen?"

"Well, it's like I said before," the older woman said. "Your father and I had been trying to conceive for a couple of months before we decided to see a specialist in Parsley City. An en vitro fertilization specialist."

"Parsley City?" Pan repeated, trying not to picture her dad and stepmother "conceiving". "That's where you two have been going?"

"Yes." Bulma gave Pan a weird look. "I already explained all of this, Pan; were you not listening?"

"Obviously not," the younger woman snapped, anger and frustration managing to seep out of her benumbed body, "or else I wouldn't be asking what I'm asking."

"Pan," her father warned. "That's enough."

Narrowing her eyes in defiance, Pan opened her mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by Trunks.

"I think Pan is just surprised by all of this," he told their parents. "We all are."

"Yeah," Gohan agreed. "I mean, don't you think you're a little too…mature to be having children?"

"Mature?" Goten scoffed. "I think the word you were looking for, Gohan, is old. Ow!"

"You're such an insensitive prick," Bulla hissed at him. Goten rubbed his shin while glaring at the young bluenette, who was sitting across from him and had seemingly kicked him from under the table.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You called my mom old, you ass."

"So? How's that insensitive?" Goten questioned angrily. "It's true."

"Will you two shut up?" Gohan snapped, before turning his attention back to Goku and Bulma. "Dad, Bulma, these are your golden years. You should be relaxing and enjoying the fact that your children are grown and self-sufficient. You should be spoiling grandkids, not devoting eighteen years to raising another child."

"I think that's for me and Bulma to decide," Goku stated. "I know you, though, Gohan. That's not what's really bothering you, is it, son?" he asked gently, sympathetic to his oldest child's feelings, feelings that Pan was certain had something to do with her mother. Her father obviously suspected the same thing. "This is about your mom," he stated matter-of-factly.

Gohan hesitated briefly before nodding solemnly. "I know she's been gone for over a year, but it still doesn't seem right. I'm sorry."

To her left, Pan noticed Goten nod his head minutely in silent agreement. Both of her brothers' eyes bore the pain of losing someone irreplaceable and watching as they were slowly forgotten. Pan knew that pain well. The youngest of the three Son siblings agreed with her brothers wholeheartedly; this was wrong, for so many reasons.

"So," Bulma started, her eyes filling with tears, "none of you are happy for us?"

"I am!" Bulla said excitedly. "I love babies," she gushed. "As long as they're not mine."

Pan glared at her best friend from across the table, her eyes burning with betrayal, but she didn't seem to notice. Bulla knew how Trunks and Pan felt about each other, but she didn't seem to realize what her mother's pregnancy meant for their relationship, for their future.

"Thank you, honey," her mother told her with a watery smile. Bulma's blue eyes then moved around the table expectantly, hopefully.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been a joyous occasion, with hugs and congratulations being exchanged between the expecting parents and their family; but as it was, everyone seated around the table- excluding Bulla- was finding it hard to be happy for her dad and stepmom for one reason or another.

"I'm happy for you, too, Mom," Trunks said, surprising Pan.

When she turned to look at him, his face was blank, making it impossible for Pan to figure out whether he was telling the truth or not. _Would he be happy about our baby?_ she wondered, before mentally shaking her head. _Don't think like that, Pan. It doesn't matter whether he'd be happy or not; he can never find out, not after this._

"I can't listen to anymore of this," Pan said suddenly, rising from her seat. Glancing at her dad and Bulma, she sneered and added, "I hope you have fun correcting people when they mistake your new bundle of joy for your grandchild."

Pan turned on her heel and exited the dining room, not bothering to stick around to see the effect her words had on the expecting parents. She knew that her words were uncalled for. The dark-haired girl also knew that she shouldn't be mad at them. She was mad at them for many things, but they didn't deserve her anger for this one. Yes, they had inadvertently destroyed her relationship with Trunks, but how could they be held responsible when they didn't even know that their children were in love. They definitely didn't know about Pan's… situation. No, if it was anyone's fault, it was her's, it was Pan's. She should've told them a long time ago. Maybe if she had, things would be different. She didn't, though, so they weren't.

When Pan reached her bedroom, she stepped quickly inside and slammed the door shut. With each step she took from the dining room to her bedroom, she felt a small piece of the numbing armor protecting her falling away. By the time she reached her destination, she was bare and vulnerable once again.

Silent tears fell from her eyes as she sat down on her bed and stared, unseeing, at the opposite wall. What was she supposed to do now? She was pregnant and the baby's father was her stepbrother, and soon they would have a new brother or sister because, haha plot twist, their parent's were having a baby, too. It was a seriously fucked up situation.

"What do I do?" she whispered, vaguely aware that she had spoken aloud.

Pan quickly dismissed the idea of having an abortion. A person was growing inside of her and she would forever hate herself if she ended its life before it started. She couldn't stay here, though, her stomach getting larger and larger with each passing month. Being as petite as she was, someone would definitely notice. There was adoption, but she'd have to carry the baby to term and, again, someone would notice. Even if by some miracle everyone was too oblivious to notice her swelling like a balloon, the thought of giving away her and Trunks' baby tore her heart in two. Her tears fell faster and harder as she imagined the family they could've had.

 _I need to leave_ , she thought sadly. _What other choice do I have? If Trunks knew about our baby, he'd never let me go. We can't be together, though. We can't._ It wasn't fair to Trunks. He deserved to know his son or daughter and they deserved to know their dad.

Pan laughed suddenly, a humorless and bitter sound, as she recalled the concern she had earlier that day of Trunks leaving her when he found out she was pregnant. Now she was the one leaving him. The irony was almost palpable. That worry seemed ridiculous to her now. She knew without a doubt that Trunks would never abandon her or his unborn child; but she had to abandon him.

The small Saiyan stood abruptly and wiped away her tears, a steely determination taking their place. She had to be strong if she was going to do this. Not just for herself, but for her child, as well.

Rushing to her closet, Pan pulled out a small duffle bag and began stuffing it with clothes and other essentials. Her plan was to make a quick getaway, but that plan was interrupted by a knock on her door and a familiar voice.

"Panny?" Trunks called, his voice muffled by the thick door. He tried to open the door, but to no avail; Pan had made sure to lock it after she came in. "Panny, are you okay?"

The concern in his voice broke Pan's heart and almost made her reconsider her decision to leave. Almost. "I'm fine, Trunks. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"What're you talking about? It's not even eight o'clock. Let me in, please. I'd like to talk about what happened."

"I don't care what time it is and I really, _really_ don't want to talk about that." She was almost finished packing her bag when her door suddenly opened, Trunks' tall body filling the frame. "How the hell did you open my door? It was locked."

"I come from a family of technical geniuses," he pointed out with a smirk, walking all the way into her room until he was only a couple of feet away. "You really think a locked door is a problem for me?"

"I guess not, but you apparently have a problem with respecting a person's privacy," Pan muttered angrily, trying and failing to shield her mostly full duffle bag with her small body. Trunks' smile faded as his eyes fell on it and then flitted back to Pan's.

"What's with the bag?" he asked quietly.

Pan thought about lying just to get rid of him, but she quickly decided against it. She didn't want the last thing she said to him to be a lie. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and told him the truth. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" he repeated, restrained panic clear in his tone. He was scared, but he didn't want to show it. "Why?"

"You know why," she whispered, her strength fading with every word spoken between them. She wanted to stay so bad.

Realization dawned on Trunks' face. "Because my mom is pregnant? You're leaving because she's pregnant? Does it really upset you that much? I know you and your brothers miss your mom, but-"

"My mom doesn't have anything to do with it," Pan interrupted. "Well, not completely," she added when Trunks raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "You haven't realized it yet, have you?"

"Obviously not," the lavender-haired boy replied, his panic morphing into anger and annoyance. "Enlighten me."

"This baby…it changes everything." When Trunks didn't say anything, she continued. "It's going to make us a real family. It'll share blood with me and it'll share blood with you. That baby is going to know us as it's legitimate brother and sister. There's not going to be anything step about it. It's over, Trunks. Me and you, we're over."

Trunks' crystal blue eyes narrowed. "Why should that matter?" he questioned. "Why can't we stay together, get married, and still be a brother and sister to the damn kid?"

"You want him or her to grow up and tell people that his brother and sister are married?" Pan scoffed. "Because I don't."

"Who gives a fuck?" he answered eloquently.

"I should've known you wouldn't care," she said, shaking her head. "After all, you're 'happy' about the baby."

"I just told my mom what she wanted to hear," Trunks clarified. "You're right, though. I don't care whether our parents have another kid or not and I don't care if it grows up and tells the whole damn world that I'm in love with you. I thought you felt the same way. I thought you didn't care if people knew we were together."

"I don't, I didn't." Pan took another breath to calm her racing heart. She was so close to throwing caution to the wind and telling Trunks about their baby. Maybe he'd understand then. "It's complicated."

"Seems pretty damn simple to me," Trunks said.

"But it's not," she choked, tears filling her eyes again. Turning around, Pan put the last of the things she planned to bring in her bag and hoisted it over her shoulder. "This is the best thing I can do right now, Trunks."

"Pan." His pained whisper sounded from behind her, making her turn back around. The look on his face had once again changed, this time from anger to anguish. "Please. Don't go."

"I have to," she told him, her heart shattering into a million pieces as she moved toward her bedroom door and away from the love of her life. Before she crossed the threshold, she stopped and smiled sadly over her shoulder at him. "Do you know what hurts the most?"

"What?" Trunks replied, his voice thick with unshed tears.

"We were so close to being really happy," Pan whispered, her voice breaking on the last word.

"We still can be," he told her, desperate to make her stay. "There's still a chance." He reached out for her and took a step forward.

"No," she insisted, shaking her head and finally walking out into the hallway. " We can't. I'm sorry." Without another word, Pan walked away from her room, away from Trunks and away from the life they should've had.

 **Author's Note:**

Super sad, right? This chapter might be a reflection of my mood the past couple of months. Sorry it's not longer. Let me know what you think, please. I'm still overwhelmed by a lot of stuff, so updates will be irregular, but I promise not to keep you guys waiting for months in between chapters. Real quick, welcome new followers. I appreciate the support. I also appreciate all the reviews from everyone. We're over a hundred! That's a lot to me. Lol. Okay, until next time! Oh, & happy Halloween!

-Chels xoxo

RIP Adam Kieth Ferris, my most favorite redhead ㈏3㈏3㈏3


	19. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart

**Welcome back, everyone! It's still technically Sunday for me, so I'm on time with my end of the week deadline. It took me over a month, but here it is. Enjoy!**

 **What Hurts the Most is by Rascal Flatts. Oh, & Two Pink Lines is by Eric Church (I think I'm going to change that title; too obvious).**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hey, girl! This chapter has everyone's reactions and all your questions will be answered, I think. I thought it was sweet that Bulla defended her mom. She probably shouldn't have hit Goten, but she's feisty like her dad. Lol.**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Hey! I agree that Pan's reasons for being upset with Bulma's pregnancy are pretty selfish, but she does realize that it's her fault for not telling her dad and stepmom about her and Trunks. Also, she leaves partly so as not to complicate things with her new brother or sister. I can guarantee she's still upset with Goku about disrespecting ChiChi. Trunks shouldn't have let her go, but I wanted him to respect her wishes. Men can be brutes sometimes & I didn't want him to be like that. Not completely anyway. Lol. I love Gohan & Goten. They're the best. You don't see much of them this chapter, but I'm going to try & work them into the next one :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I hate that the story isn't going the way you want, but hopefully that changes. Pan yelling at Bulma would've made a bigger impact, I agree, but I didn't want her to be childish & entirely selfish. She knows it was her fault for not telling them about her and Trunks. Maybe it would've made a difference. I wish I could tell you that you're right or wrong about Bulma, but either answer would give too much away. **

**I don't mind your babbling at all. I like to hear what you guys think. Sometimes I catch things that you say you want and I put them in the story if they fit. Thanks for being supportive :)**

 **To Lordshuvra: Thanks for another review, hon. Don't worry. I'm not depressed or anything. Overall, I'm happy & loving life. I think about Adam from time-to-time & get sad, but I'm definitely not depressed. I know I said that the past couple of months might've influenced the last chapter, but when I thought about it, I realized that it was going to be sad regardless. That chapter was planned before Adam passed & there was no way to write Pan leaving Trunks & make it come off as happy. Lol. This one is going to be kind of sad, too, but it gets better, I promise ;)**

 **To Jen: Hey, Jen! Glad you like the story. I definitely plan to keep going until the end ;) Thanks for the review & support!**

 **To mielamelia: You made my day with your review. It's one of the sweetest ever. I hope you liked the rest of the story after chapter seven, assuming you read it already, of course. Lol. Details are important to me and it's awesome that you appreciate them. Thanks for the review, hon! I hope to hear from you again :)**

 **To Guest: Cheer up, hon. My stories have guaranteed happy endings :)**

 **Chapter Nineteen: From the Bottom of My Broken Heart**

 **Pan's POV:**

Hot tears pooled in Pan's eyes, blurring her vision, as she raced through the open night sky, putting more and more distance between her and Trunks with each passing second. Her heart beat frantically in her chest, the rapid pace causing a thin sheen of sweat to form on her body and face, as the weight of her situation threatened to crush her. She was pregnant, homeless, and- since she couldn't go back to working for Trunks-jobless.

The realization that she had next to nothing was almost enough to make her turn back around; but the determination that gave Pan the strength to leave in the first place also gave her the courage to keep going. She had some money that she had saved over the past couple of months; it would most likely last until she found another job. Pan had also brought some things with her, so she didn't need to worry about wasting money on clothing. No, her biggest concern was where she would live. She needed to find a home for her and her unborn baby.

Growing up with her father and two brothers, Pan was positive she could survive in the wild if it came to that; however, the months were growing colder. Fall was just around the corner and the young Saiyan could feel it in the slight chill of the evening air. The wind whipped at her face, drying the moisture on her cheeks; it cooled her overheated body causing goosebumps to rise along the flesh not covered by her red tank top and denim shorts. In a couple of months, though, it would do more than raise goosebumps.

Pan was entertaining the idea of staying in a hotel room for a few nights when the mountains below caught her eye, making her stop abruptly. Hovering there, she stared down at the familiar region with wide eyes. Below her was Mount Paozu, the place where she had grown up; and she almost hadn't notice it. She was so lost in thought that she had almost flown right over the solution to her problem. Mount Paozu was her home once… and now it would be again. She couldn't believe that the idea hadn't occurred to her sooner.

Descending, Pan flew through the dark until she found the modest house nestled in a small valley, surrounded by tall trees and lush grass. As soon as Pan landed in front of her old home, she was bombarded with memories of her mother. _Maybe this was why I didn't think of this place sooner_ , she thought somberly. Before she and her family had moved, it had been impossible for Pan to go anywhere in the house- or even outside- without thinking about her mom. Memories of her haunted Pan and it had made it that much harder for the young girl to try to move past her death. As much as she had hated the fact that her father had remarried and that she was being forced to move into his new wife's house, Pan had been a little relieved that she would get a reprieve from the heartache those memories brought with them.

Staring at the dark windows, Pan knew that she would be okay staying there again. At the moment, her memories of Trunks cancelled out those of her mother. Pan walked up to the front door and pushed it open, entering her childhood home for the first time in months. She walked through each room, turning on the lights as she went. The furniture was covered in sheets of plastic and everything else was covered in a fine layer of dust, but the house was just as she remembered.

When Pan got to the last room, her bedroom, she finally let herself feel everything that she had been trying to hold back since she'd left Capsule Corp. Ripping the plastic off of her old bed, she sank down into the plush mattress and buried her face in her pillow. Tears fell freely from her eyes, soaking the pillow, as painful sobs racked her small body. Loneliness and longing, despair and hopelessness gripped her heart.

Had she made the right decision? Was leaving really her only option? Pan wept harder, wishing her mother was there to tell her if she had made the right choice. At the time, she had thought so, but now doubt was beginning to taint her thoughts. Pan eventually slipped into a fitful sleep, dreams of the life she so desperately wanted with Trunks teasing her throughout the night.

 **Trunks' POV:**

The young president of Capsule Corp sat motionless at his desk, his head buried in his hands. A large pile of unfinished paperwork sat in front of him, long forgotten. It had been three days since Pan had left and he was just barely getting his head around the fact that she was truly gone. He had half expected Pan to be at work the next day; but, of course, she wasn't. Trunks had spent that first day in the office after she'd left staring at the door, hoping she would walk through it, but, of course, she didn't.

Everyone had taken Pan's leaving hard. Bulla burst into tears when she found out, the two having been close all his sister's life. Her brothers wanted to go look for her, wanted to convince her to come home, but they couldn't sense her and they didn't know where to start looking. They'd figured Pan wouldn't return to their old home, but rather find a new one that didn't hold painful memories, one that could've been anywhere.

His mother was naturally upset, assuming that it was her fault- he wasn't sure that it wasn't- but Goku took it the worst. Trunks could tell that he felt incredibly guilty for pushing his little girl away. After he had found out that she had run away, he spent as much time as he could in the gravity room, grieving in his own way. Trunks wished that he could do the same. He wished he could spend the entire day taking out his anger and frustration and pain on bots and punching bags; but he had a company to run and a new assistant to find.

"Mr. Brief?" A timid, meek voice pierced Trunks' thoughts. He tried to ignore it, but the person it belonged to was persistent. "Sir?"

Trunks growled in frustration. Sitting up, he hit a button on the two-way intercom system on his desk before barking, "What is it?"

"There's someone here to see you, sir," the small voice of his new assistant answered.

The poor girl- Sarah or Samantha, he could never remember- was absolutely terrified of Trunks. He had been the world's worst boss since the temp agency sent her over two days ago. Trunks constantly yelled at the twenty-something, scolding her for the smallest of mistakes, and he gave her an impossible workload with equally impossible deadlines. He knew he wasn't being fair to her, but he couldn't help it; he missed Pan and he hated seeing another person sitting behind what used to be her desk. It was probably why it was taking him so long to hire someone permanently.

"I'm working," Trunks lied. "Tell whoever it is to go away."

"She said she needs to see you right away," his assistant- Stephanie?- said after a brief pause. "She said it's important."

 _She?_ _Pan?_ Hope blossomed in Trunks' chest as he replied, "Send her in."

The purple-haired president stood and moved to stand in front of his desk as the sound of footsteps approached his office door. His heart raced in anticipation as he watched the knob turn and the door begin to open. It sank with crushing disappointment, though, when a tall, blonde woman appeared in the doorway instead of the petite, dark-haired one he had hoped for. Trunks couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to think that Pan had come back to him. She had made it pretty clear that she didn't want to be with him; or rather, she did want to be with him, but couldn't.

"You could look at least a little happy to see me, Trunks."

Cecilia's cloying- and somewhat annoying- voice pulled Trunks from his darkening thoughts. "Cecilia," he greeted with a slight nod. "It's good to see you." That was a lie. The lousy day Trunks was having would have been slightly better if she had never come by to see him. He couldn't remember why he had ever thought it was a good idea to sleep with her. Sure, she was pretty, but it wasn't a natural beauty like Pan had. Everything about Cecilia was superficial. She was the complete opposite of Pan. Trunks shook his head subtly as he tried to rid his mind of the darkness that threatened to taint his thoughts once again. "What brings you up here?"

"What happened to your old girl?" Cecilia asked, ignoring his question and gesturing behind her at the waiting area where his assistant was stationed. "Pam, was it?"

"Pan," he corrected, his heart clenching painfully at the sound of that one simple word.

"Tomato, tomahto," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, I'm glad you had the good sense to let _Pam_ go. I never did like her."

"What can I do for you, Cecilia?" Trunks asked, trying to keep his annoyance at the blonde woman out of his tone. Judging by the look on Cecilia's face, he had succeeded.

A large smile formed on the woman's heavily painted face, her teeth stark white against the bright red of her lipstick. "You can do a lot for me, sweetie, but I was thinking maybe we could start with a drink or two first after work."

Trunks blinked at her a few times, confused. "Wh- a drink? What're you talking about?"

"I mean just what I said," Cecilia said with an eye roll. "We haven't been out together in a long time. I miss you," She walked up to him and placed her perfectly manicured hand on his chest. "You remember how much fun we used to have together, don't you, Trunks?"

"This is why you had to see me right away?" Trunks asked, unable to hide the anger in his tone this time. "To ask me out?"

"Well, not exactly." Cecilia smiled up at him seductively as her hand slowly moved downward. "I didn't really want to start with drinks."

Wrapping his hand around Cecilia's wrist, Trunks gently, but firmly, removed her hand from his body. "I think you should go back to your office, Cecilia." Trunks turned his back on her and moved back behind his desk. He sat down and looked up to find Cecilia still in the room, staring at him, dumbfounded. "Was there something else you wanted to discuss? Something work related?"

"What the hell, Trunks?" Cecilia hissed, anger twisting her features. "You've never turned me down before."

"There's a first time for everything," he deadpanned.

"What's your problem? Are you seeing somebody? Is that it?"

"Not anymore." Trunks' eyes unconsciously glanced at the part of the wall that separated his office from his assistant's work area, Pan's old work area. Fortunately, Cecilia didn't notice.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm not interested, Cecilia, that's what it is."

"I'm sure I can get you interested," the woman purred, prowling toward Trunks.

Once she reached him, she dropped to her knees in front of him and placed her hands on his legs, moving them slowly up his thighs. Trunks didn't make a move to stop her, instead wondering why he was bothering to push her away in the first place. It wasn't like he was in a relationship anymore. Why should he remain faithful to a woman who had left him?

Cecilia's hands reached the button on his pants. She popped it open quickly and then moved on to his zipper, the sound of it being pulled down loud in the otherwise quiet room. Her hands were about to reach into his pants when he finally stopped her, pushing her hands away.

Standing, Trunks fixed his pants and glared down at the woman on the floor. "I'll give you one more chance to leave. If you don't, you're fired. Do you understand?"

The tall blonde stood and stomped toward the door, huffing angrily as she went. When she was finally gone, Trunks sank back in his chair with a deep, long sigh. He still loved her. That's why he didn't want Cecilia. He didn't want any other woman except for Pan; and he couldn't have her. Trunks knew that he would never again love a woman like he loved Pan and that filled him with a sense of hopelessness that threatened to swallow him whole.

Trunks' glassy blue eyes landed on the small bar area in the corner, the one he had set up to entertain important clients and visitors. He got up and went over to it, grabbing a bottle of his most expensive bourbon and twisting the top off. Bringing the bottle to his mouth, he swallowed the amber liquid, hoping it would numb his pain, if only for a little while.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

An hour later, Trunks stumbled through the front door of his house. He wasn't highly intoxicated, but he was inebriated enough that his motor skills were less than graceful. After he drank the neck of the bottle and then some, Trunks realized no amount of alcohol would make him forget Pan. She was too ingrained into his heart, mind and soul.

Trunks ascended the stairs at a sluggish pace, his heavy heart weighing him down and slowing him more than the liquor in his system. When he reached the first floor landing, he came face-to-face with his little sister, who was on her way down.

"Oh, it's you," she said, disappointment clear on her face. "When I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, I kind of hoped that it was… well, you know."

"Well, it's not," Trunks snapped.

Bulla's eyes narrowed at him. "You've been drinking," she stated matter-of-factly. "I can smell it on your breath."

"Good job, Sherlock," he replied sarcastically. "Your deductive skills are almost on par with the great detective himself."

Trunks was growing more and more agitated with each passing second. He just wanted to shower and then go to sleep; he wasn't interested in having a conversation about his beverage choices with his younger sister.

"Drowning yourself in booze isn't the answer, Trunks," Bulla sighed, ignoring his comment. "It isn't a healthy way to deal with losing Pan. She-"

"What do you know about it?" Trunks interrupted harshly. "You have no idea what it feels like to lose someone you love. Someone you'd do anything for; die for. I do, and I'll handle it anyway I want." He tried to move past her, but the bluenette stepped in his way again. "Move, Bulla."

"You're not the only one who misses her, Trunks," she stated, ignoring him again. "You're not the only one she left. She's my best friend and it hurts that she left without even saying goodbye. It feels like the day Dad left all over again and I hate it. So grieve. Do whatever you have to do, but stop taking your anger out on me. Being an ass isn't going to help anyone, including yourself."

Trunks stared down at Bulla for a moment before shaking his head and shoving past her. "Whatever."

"She'll come back one day, Trunks," his sister yelled after him. "I know she will."

It was Trunks' turn to ignore her. He entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, probably harder than he should have. Once inside, he leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, Bulla's words repeating in his head. _She'll come back one day, Trunks. I know she will._ Unfortunately, he didn't agree. Pan was gone and she had taken the best parts of him with her. What was left, was a depressed, angry shell. He missed her, he needed her, he was lost without her.

"Fuck!" Trunks yelled, picking up the trashcan next to him and throwing it at the mirror above the sink.

Pieces of glass rained down onto the countertop and the floor, along with the contents of the small trash bin. A pink box caught Trunks' eye, the word "pregnancy" grabbing his attention. Reaching out, he picked it up for a closer look- _Pregnancy Test_. Trunks felt his face go slack with shock, his mild buzz from the bourbon quickly dissipating. Only two women used this bathroom, Bulla and Pan. That meant that one of them had taken the test.

Trunks jumped to his feet and frantically looked around for the stick that he knew came in the box, but found nothing. Having failed to find it, he raced downstairs, box in hand, to find Bulla. It didn't take him long to find her in the living room, flipping through channels on the television. She frowned when she noticed him, panting and sweaty.

"Um… are you okay, Trunks?" she questioned. "Because, no offense, but you look like shit."

"Is this yours?" Trunks asked, thrusting the pink box in front of her face. She stared at it briefly before returning her eyes to his face.

"Why do you have a pregnancy test?"

"I found it in the bathroom trash," he told her. "Is it yours?"

Bulla glanced between him and the box in his hand a couple of times. Then, suddenly, she gasped and covered her mouth while her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, my god," she whispered after lowering the hand over her mouth.

"It's- it's not yours, is it?" the purple-haired Saiyan asked in a quiet voice. His knees grew weak, forcing him to sit down beside his sister.

"No," Bulla answered, still with a look of shock plastered on her face. "It's not mine. It's-"

"Pan's," he finished. Of course it was hers. He should've known; Pan had been feeling sick before she left. It must've been morning sickness. Without physical proof, there was no way to be sure, but all the evidence he had pointed to one thing. "I think Pan might be pregnant."

 **Pan's POV:**

Three days had passed since Pan had made the decision to leave home and each one had been wrought with agony and loneliness, the days ahead promising much of the same. The only thing that kept her from falling into a deep depression was the life growing inside of her. The first morning back in her old home, Pan had gone out and stocked the kitchen with healthy food for her and her baby. She even purchased prenatal vitamins.

The second day was spent cleaning the house; she meticulously dusted every surface and swept and mopped every floor. Pan found that focusing on menial chores distracted her from her sad reality, if only for a few moments. More often than not, though, the young Saiyan found herself dissolving into tears, seemingly out of nowhere. One moment she would be washing a dish and the next she would be on the kitchen floor, sobbing.

On the third night, Pan was going through her bedroom closet, trying to find the extra blankets she knew her mom had put in there for her. It was well past seven and she desperately needed to wash the old, musty ones currently on her bed, something she should have done days ago. Locating them on the top shelf of her closet, Pan reached up and pulled the bagged blankets down, accidentally knocking a box down in the process. It broke open and its contents scattered across her bedroom floor.

Groaning, Pan threw the bag of blankets onto her bed and bent down to pick up the items, which included old birthdays cards, pictures and old toys that she had grown out of, but still kept for their sentimental value. She was almost done with the task when an envelope with her name on it caught her eye. Pan immediately recognized her mom's handwriting. Hesitantly, she picked it up and eyed it wearily.

She remembered when her dad had given her this letter after her mom had died. Pan had refused to open it then, fearing her mother's last words to her would break her. She was tempted to do the same now, tempted to ignore it and go back to her bed-making; but Pan pushed that thought aside and ripped open the still sealed envelope, hoping to find solace, not more heartache.

 _To my beautiful daughter,_

 _Panny, if you're reading this, then that means I am no longer with you. Oh, my poor, sweet little girl. I see how you suffer everyday as you're forced to watch me wither away. I wish more than anything that I could take that pain away. Unfortunately, I know that all of my wishing is pointless and that you'll only hurt worse in the months to come, especially toward the end, especially when I am gone. It breaks my heart to know that that's when you'll need me the most and that I won't be there to comfort you. The only solace I have is knowing you will have your brothers and your father and that they will have you._

 _I've been doing quite a bit of thinking since the doctor told me this ailment of mine is killing me. I spent a lot of time worrying about what would happen after I died, but recently I have realized that I shouldn't be so concerned with the after, but more with the now._

 _On the day I die a lot will happen. A lot will change. The world will be busy. On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended. The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone._

 _The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me. All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of my loved ones to care for or to discard._

 _The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me. The arguments I believed I'd won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace. All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted._

 _My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway. Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over, about my waistline or hair or frown lines, will fade away. My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway. The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore._

 _All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless. The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived._

 _Yet for as much as will happen on the day I die, one more thing will happen. On that day, you and the rest of the people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply. You will feel a void. You will feel cheated. You will not feel ready. You will feel as though a part of yourself has died as well. And on that day, more than anything in the world you will want more time with me. I know this from those I love and grieve over. And so knowing this, while I am still alive, I am going to remember that my time with all of you is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I'll do my best not to waste a second of it._

 _I'll not squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control._

 _Panny, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections. They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating_ now _with those who love you and want only to share it with you._

 _Don't miss the chance to dance with them while you can. It's easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die. Don't let your life be stolen every day by all that you believe matters, because on the day you die, much of it simply won't. I regret that it took me this long to realize that._

 _I want you to know that I am not afraid to die and that I have accepted the inevitable._ _I know what awaits me on the other side. I have seen it, experienced it briefly, and I know I will be happy and content as I wait to be reunited with my family and friends. Until then, Panny, live._

 _Life is short and, like me, you will die. My only wish is that you'll live your life to the fullest, surrounded by the people that you love. Like Trunks. You may say you hate him, but I know that a part of you still cares about him and I know he still cares about you, too. I've seen it in his eyes whenever he looks at you when he thinks no one is paying attention._

 _When I am gone, go to him. He was a large part of your life for so long and I think it's time that you and him hashed things out. Don't give up so easily on a person who could make your life so much better. You'll regret it. If things don't work out, at least you can say that you tried._

 _A parent is never ready to leave their child, myself included, but I know you'll be okay. It won't be easy, but you're strong. We'll see each other again one day, baby. I love you. Never forget that. Death can change so much, but it'll never change that._

 _Love, Mom_

Tears were streaming down Pan's face yet again by the time she finished the letter. Her mother's words had given Pan some solace, some much needed comfort. More than anything, though, the letter had left her confused. The things her mom had written about her and Trunks could so easily be applied to their situation now. Would she still mean them, though, if she knew why Pan had left him? If she knew about Bulma's pregnancy and her own? Would her mother tell her to reconcile with him then? Pan wasn't sure, but she knew that she would want her daughter to be happy; she said as much in her letter.

Still, was going back the right decision? Pan thought leaving was the right thing to do. Had she been wrong? Doubt and uncertainty chased each other in her mind again. Various scenarios of what would happen if she returned played out in her head. None of them turned out well.

Overwhelmed, she sat down on the edge of her bed, only to jump to her feet again when she noticed a large dark spot on the crotch of her jeans. Pan stared, wide-eyed, and unable to move at the red splotch that now stained the comforter on her bed. She glanced down again and her body began to tremble as she realized that the substance coloring the fabric of her pants was...

"Blood."

She was pregnant and she was bleeding. Pan knew next to nothing about being pregnant, but she knew that that wasn't normal. Her heart began to pound rapidly againat her ribs, the same thought repeating over and over in her head- _did I just_ _lose my baby?_

 **Author's Note:**

I borrowed the majority of ChiChi's note to Pan from John Pavlovitz. He deserves most of the credit. Again, new chapters will be irregular, especially with the holidays, but hopefully not too few & far between. I'm all about Christmastime, if you didn't know. I make homemade cookies & big ol' dinners, wrap presents, decorate & all that other good stuff (except caroling). I love it. So don't be a grinch. Be patient ;) You might not hear from me again until January. So just in case, merry Christmas, happy holidays, etc. Whatever you celebrate, I hope you enjoy yourself :)

-Chels xoxo


	20. Where Are You Now?

**Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry that I didn't post this chapter when I said I would. A couple of Wednesdays ago, I ended up in the hospital because my blood sugar went too low. I was released the next morning, but I had no energy for a few days after that- almost dying can do that to you- so I couldn't finish this chapter in time. I feel better and have spent the past couple of days writing, but I still haven't finished it. I had a lot more to add. It'll have to be in the next chapter, however. I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. That being said, this is not the longest chapter, but it's something. Enjoy!**

 **From the Bottom of My Broken Heart is classic Britney Spears.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: You know, I can't for the life of me recall when anyone used a ki bracelet in Dragon Ball? Lol. I guess it's been awhile since I watched the entire series. I might have to dedicate a few weeks to doing that. I always thought that everyone did what Krillin & Gohan did on Namek to hide from Frieza & his goons when they didn't want to be found. If I'm wrong, please let me know. This chapter is incomplete, so I don't think any of your questions will be answered yet. I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner. I hope you had a nice Christmas :)**

 **To Majin Hezaa: I'm so sorry I made you wait so long, hon. You're right, I'm a total dick. Lol. If I had to wait two months to find out what happened after a cliffhanger like that, I'd go crazy. I'm also sorry the chapter made you cry, but I guess that's a good thing? Maybe? Anyway, here's the next chapter at last. It's incomplete, but I promise to have the rest soon :)**

 **To lordshuvra: Thank you for another review! I'm glad you liked the chapter, & I hope you had an awesome Christmas :)**

 **To destiny18-au: I know. I feel like a monster sometimes for not giving Pan a break from all the crap she's already been through. We all know Goku can be a selfish one, Bulma, too. To be fair, maybe things would've worked out differently if they had known about Pan & Trunks from the beginning. Still, I definitely don't agree with anything they've done. Here's the next chapter at last. Goten & Gohan make an appearance next chapter (I love those boys). Happy belated holidays & new year :)**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: I feel so bad for not updating sooner. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for so long. You'll see more Gohan & Goten in the next chapter. I had planned to have them in this one, along with Pan, but it was taking too long to write & I had to give y'all something. Goku is in this chapter, but you might not like what he does. Thanks for another review, hon. I promise not to make you wait so long next time :)**

 **To Guest: Poor Pan indeed. She just cannot catch a break. Thanks for the review :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I don't know either honestly. I'm not sure how I feel about the last couple of chapters actually. I've debated whether or not to write an alternate ending starting at chapter eighteen because I'm not entirely sure if I'm happy with what I'd written. I promise, though, that whatever happens, things will end happily. Thanks for another review :)**

 **To Guest: Everyone needs a little guidance from their mommas. Lol. I'm glad Pan has some direction, too. Her situation is super complicated. I love OG Britney. Lol. Thanks for the review, hon :)**

 **Chapter Twenty: Where Are You Now?**

 **Trunks' POV:**

"I think Pan might be pregnant."

Trunks glanced down at the pregnancy test in his hand, his eyes widening in shock and his heart beginning to race as his own words sank in. He hardly believed what he had said, but what other explanation could there be? Trunks believed his sister when she had said that it wasn't hers- Bulla wouldn't lie to him about something like that- so that only left Pan. She had to have been the one who'd taken the test, which made Trunks wonder if it had been positive or negative.

"Maybe, maybe not," Bulla said. "Did you find the white stick thingy?"

The purple-haired Saiyan shook his head. "No," he answered quietly. "Just the box. It had to have been positive, though. You saw how sick she had been. Before she left, she had been throwing up for two days."

"Could've been the flu," she suggested.

"Yeah, it could have been," he allowed, "but what are the odds that it was?"

"And what are the odds that it wasn't?" Bulla countered.

"The odds are pretty damn good, Bulla," he growled, growing frustrated with his little sister.

"Don't get all bitchy. I'm trying to figure this out, same as you."

"You could've fooled me."

The blue-haired girl sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Let me think for a second." She paused for a moment, lost in thought, before suddenly blurting out, "Have you ever not used a condom?"

"Excuse me?" Trunks asked, not sure if he had heard her right.

"Have you ever not used a condom?" Bulla repeated, enunciating each word carefully and slowly.

"That's none of your business," he said, uncomfortable with his little sister using the word "condom".

"Believe me, Trunks, I don't want to be having this conversation either. I'd rather not know anything about your sex life, but I'm trying to help you out here, okay?"

"Okay," Trunks repeated slowly.

"I know that Pan isn't on any type of birth control, so that means you two must've been using prophylactics. Now, I'll ask again and please try to follow this time. Have you ever not used a condom?"

Still uncomfortable, Trunks forced himself to think back on all the times he and Pan were intimate. It was hard for him to remember each encounter and even harder to remember the minute details of each one. He and Pan had hardly been able to keep their hands off of each other for more than a few minutes, so they made love frequently, the past month a blur of naked skin and pleasurable sensations. He had taken her in his bedroom, in hers, in the shower, even in the kitchen when they were sure no one was home. Trunks' favorite place so far, though, was his off-

"My office," he muttered, memories of that day playing clearly and vividly in his head.

"Your what?" Bulla asked, leaning forward slightly to hear him better.

Trunks' felt a slight blush form on his cheeks as he cleared his throat and told her, "Pan and I had sex in my office once and-"

"Oh, my god!" Bulla interrupted, leaning back again, disgust clear on her face. "Why the hell would you tell me that, Trunks?"

"Because you asked if we had ever had sex without a condom," he reminded her, "and that was the one and only time I can remember when we didn't."

"A simple 'yes' would've sufficed," she grumbled. "I didn't need to know any details. God, I am never visiting you at work again. I can't believe you two did it while-"

"Bulla!" Trunks snapped. "Will you shut up and focus?"

"I'll try. It's going to be hard, though, with _that_ image in my head." The bluenette shook her head as if to clear it and asked, "So how long ago was that?"

The older Saiyan paused for a moment before replying, "About a month ago. It wasn't too long after we got together."

"A month?" Bulla repeated with raised brows. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. Give or take a few days."

"Well, big brother, I'm not a doctor, but so far all of the evidence is screaming 'pregnant'." She shook her head at him. "How could you not wear a condom, you idiot?"

Trunks ignored her question, even though he knew exactly how it had happened. Everything had happened so fast that day. Before their encounter in his office, it had been three days since he had been with Pan. Three days, though it had felt like a lot longer. Pan had been healing from their first time together, but she was finally feeling better. They had been so desperate and hungry for each other that day that they couldn't wait until after work. Trunks' need to be inside of her again had taken over his mind, forcing all rational thought out. Had he not been so consumed by desire and lust, had he been thinking clearly, he would've remembered to use protection. He didn't, though, and now he had to figure out whether or not the woman he loved was pregnant with his child.

"So that's it then," Trunks finally said. "If you couple the unprotected sex with Pan being ill and _this_ -" he held up the pink box still in his hand- "then the most likely scenario is that she's…" Trunks trailed off as something dawned on him. "That's why she left," he muttered, more to himself than to the girl sitting beside him.

"You think Pan left because she found out she was pregnant?" Bulla reiterated.

"Yes," he replied. "Pan said it was because Mom is pregnant, and she was probably telling the truth, but what if there was more to it? Maybe she was too scared to tell me she was pregnant, too. Maybe she thinks I don't want to be a father." Trunks suddenly recalled how worried Pan had looked on the day she had left. He had assumed it was because she was worried about people finding out about their engagement, and she had agreed that it was, but now he wasn't so sure.

" _Do_ you want to be a father?" his sister inquired, her curious blue eyes studying him closely.

The innocuous question caught Trunks off guard. His mind had been so preoccupied with figuring out whether Pan was pregnant or not that he hadn't had the chance to think about what it would mean for him if it were true. It would mean that he'd be a father, plain and simple. A father to a child that was part him and part Pan. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he pictured a small dark-haired baby asleep in his arms. Did he want to be a father? Of course he did.

"I do," Trunks finally answered, smiling at Bulla.

"Well then," she started, smiling back, "go find Pan and tell her that. Assuming she's pregnant, of course."

"She is," Trunks told her confidently. There was enough evidence to convince him that she was. "I need to find her and bring her home." Getting to his feet, Trunks turned to leave the room, but then stopped, spinning back around to face his sister again. "Where the hell do I start looking, though? She's suppressing her ki, I can't sense her."

"Ask Goku," Bulls suggested. "Maybe she has secret hiding places that he knows about or something."

Trunks rolled his eyes at her. "Assuming Pan even has 'secret hiding places', I doubt her dad would know about them. I definitely wouldn't tell Mom if I had any."

"Would you tell me?" she asked him.

"Hell no." Bulla stuck her tongue out at him, reminding Trunks of when she was younger. "You're her best friend," Trunks pointed out. "Shouldn't you know where she likes to go to get away from people?"

"Shouldn't _you_?" his sister countered. "You were the one sleeping with her."

Narrowing his eyes, Trunks replied, "Our relationship was more than that and you know it."

"I do know. Now stop glaring at me and focus, moron," Bulla told him, unfazed by his attitude. "It can't hurt to ask Goku, so go do it."

"I guess." Trunks sighed before turning to leave again. "Thanks, brat."

"No prob, ass," she shot back as he walked out of the living room in search of his stepfather.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It didn't take Trunks long to find Goku. After disposing of the pregnancy test, he decided to check the kitchen first. As luck would have it, the young Saiyan entered the room just in time to see his stepfather entering as well through the door that led to the backyard. His mother, also in the kitchen, smiled at the two Saiyan men.

"If you two are hungry, you'll have to wait until dinner is done." She gestured behind her to the pots simmering on the stove.

"I'm not hungry," Trunks said; and he wasn't. Any appetite he might have had was displaced by an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and the need to find Pan. "Goku, I need to talk to you."

The older Saiyan, who had been eyeing the food cooking on the stove, turned his attention to his stepson. "What about?"

"Do you know where Pan might be?" he asked, cutting right to the chase.

A look of sadness passed over Goku's face at the reminder of his absent daughter. "I wish I did, Trunks, but you know that I have no idea."

"I see." Trunks' heart sank. He had been almost certain that Goku didn't know where Pan was, but he was hoping that he was wrong. It wouldn't stop Trunks from looking for her, though; he would scour the earth to find her. He didn't care how long it took, he was going to find her and bring her home.

"Trunks, why do you want to know where Pan is all of a sudden?" Goku's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"I'm going to bring her home," the lavender-haired boy told him simply.

"Trunks," Goku started, "I doubt Pan wants to come home. She left for a reason and I don't think she's going to come back anytime soon, no matter how much we want her to."

"So you have no idea why she left then?" Trunks asked quietly, anger swelling inside him, his anxiety and desperate need to find Pan adding to the feeling. "Not the slightest clue?"

"I know that she's been unhappy. She has been ever since her mother died." The pained expression on his face intensified.

" _You_ were the reason."

"Excuse me?" Confusion replaced the grief on the other man's face.

"You were the reason why Pan left," Trunks repeated. "Both of you were," he added, glancing at his mom, who had turned away from the stove and was staring at him with glassy eyes.

"Trunks-" she started.

"You couldn't be happy just being married, could you?" he interrupted. "You had to go get pregnant and ruin everything."

"What are you talking about, Trunks?" Goku inquired, annoyance clear in his voice. "This baby didn't ruin anything. If anything, it's going to bring us closer as a family."

"The fuck it is," Trunks snapped. "It already drove Pan away."

His mom gasped. "I knew it."

"No, Bulma," Goku said, walking over to her and placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. "He's wrong."

"I'm not," Trunks told them. "Pan told me herself right before she left." His hard gaze bore into Goku's as he added, "Right before she left _me_. So like I said, you ruined everything."

Silence fell over the room after his unexpected revelation. Trunks glanced at his mom again briefly to find her eyes wide with shock and her hand clasped over her mouth. He hadn't planned on saying what he did, but he didn't regret it; it had been a long time coming.

Returning his gaze to Goku, the younger man noticed that his face was blank. There was no visible trace of emotion to reveal what he was thinking, something that unsettled Trunks more than if his face had been filled with rage. Goku was typically an easy going guy, but he was a force to be reckoned with if you crossed him. Under all of his anger at his mom and stepfather, Trunks couldn't help but be a little worried that he had done just that.

"What do you mean she left you?" Goku asked in an eerily calm voice.

He was sure that Goku and his mother understood perfectly what he had meant, but, still, Trunks explained anyway. Knowing there was no going back now, the purple-haired boy took a deep breath and replied, "Pan and I have been dating for over a month. At least we were until you two announced that you were having a baby. Pan left me after that. She said that we couldn't be together anymore since we were going to be sharing a brother or sister. She said it would be weird for the kid when it got old-"

Pain suddenly blossomed around Trunks' right eye as his body was propelled backwards, only stopping after colliding with the kitchen wall behind him, his body falling to the tile floor. Disoriented, his ears ringing, it took him a few moments to realize what had happened. Black spots danced on the edge of his vision as he looked up to see an angry Goku standing over him; an angry Goku that had apparently punched him across the room.

"Pan never would've left if not for you," he growled, reaching down and picking Trunks up by the collar of his shirt. "The baby wouldn't have mattered so much to her if you hadn't taken advantage of her and made her think you two had a future together."

"We _do_ have a future together," Trunks spat. "And I didn't take advantage of her. You know what I did? I was there for her. I did what you should've done and I was just there. Plain and simple. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself."

Sneering, Goku pulled his arm back, readying to punch the younger man again, when a shrill voice interrupted him. "Goku! Don't you dare lay another finger on my son!" Looking down, Trunks noticed for the first time that his mother was there next to them, attempting to free him from Goku's tight grip. "Let him go!" she screamed, clawing at her husband's muscular arm.

Goku hesitated for a moment before listening to his wife and releasing Trunks. Once he was free, Bulma raised her hand and slapped Goku across the face, a loud _SMACK_ resonating throughout the room.

"What the hell, Bulma?" he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek.

"That was for hitting my son," his mom seethed, her breathing hard and fast. "Never touch him again, do you understand me?"

"Bulma-"

"Do you understand?" she asked again angrily.

"Yes," Goku muttered. "I'm sorry. I let my temper get the best of me and I'm sorry."

"Apologize to Trunks, not me," she told him, before storming out of the room, no doubt to cool off somewhere away from her husband; it was something she had often done after having an argument with Trunks' father.

The kitchen filled with silence after his mother's departure, neither male saying anything for a few long moments. Trunks lifted his hand and gently prodded the tender area around his eye where he could already fill a bruise forming. Considering the damage he'd seen Goku inflict, he felt oddly thankful that he wasn't more severely injured.

"I'm sorry, Trunks," Goku finally said, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm not sure how I feel about what you said, about you and Pan, but I'm sorry I reacted the way I did."

Trunks merely scoffed and left the room, not ready to forgive the older man. He had told Goku the truth and it wasn't his fault if he couldn't accept it and decided to blame Trunks instead for Pan's leaving. Maybe he _did_ drive her away, though, at lease party. If Pan ran away because she was too scared to tell him she was pregnant, than that was on him for allowing those doubts and fears to exist in the first place. He should've shown her more often how much she meant to him.

His body aching from the harsh impact of the wall, the young Saiyan sighed deeply and started up the stairs, planning to grab a senzu bean before beginning his search for Pan. Just as he reached the second floor landing, however, he felt her. After days of suppressing her ki, Trunks could suddenly sense her again. He didn't know why or how and he didn't care. What he did know was that she wasn't hidden from him anymore. For how long, though, was another matter altogether. Forgoing the senzu bean, Trunks raced back down the stairs, determined to find the woman he loved.

 **Author's Note:**

Did you all like it? Let me know in a review. Also, if there's something you would like to see happen in the remaining chapters of the story, let me know. I'll try to make it happen. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and I hope your new year is off to a good start. I promise to be back soon!

-Chels xoxo


	21. Gone Too Soon

**Hey, guys! I'm back with a new chapter & it didn't take me two months this time to post it, yay! I still feel terrible about how bad I've been about updating these past few months. I'm slowly, but surely wrapping up the story, though. Here's the second part of the last chapter that I was unable to finish in time. Enjoy!**

 **Where Are You Know? is another Britney classic.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hmm… I think your questions will be answered next chapter. There's too much going on in this chapter for anyone to have a heart-to-heart. You get to find out the fate of Pan's baby, though. I'll have to look into that ki bracelet thing. They might come in handy sometime. Lol.**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: I love secret romances, too. It's probably why I keep writing about them. Lol. It had to come out sometime, though. I tried to imagine how a dad would react if he thought a boy hurt his little girl in someway & that's what I got. He thought Pan left because of Trunks so he threw a punch. My dad drove off my first boyfriend for just being with me so it makes sense to me. Lol. Hope you like this chapter! :)**

 **To Majin Hezaa: The next chapter is here! Unfortunately, you won't find out the fate of Pan's baby until the** _ **next**_ **chapter. Sorry about that…**

 **JUST KIDDING! Lol. Don't hurt me. I couldn't resist. I dedicate this chapter to you. I hope you like it. Thanks for another review.**

 **To Aaliyah Rose 13: Bulma is a protective momma. Lol. I know Goku's reaction was kind of out of character, but he's the father of a girl & he's protective of her like Bulma is with Trunks. You finally get to find out what happened to Pan in this chapter. Oh, & there's a little bit of Gohan & Goten. Hope you like it ;)**

 **To lordshuvra: I never forget about this story. It's just so hard to find time to write, you know? I do need more happy chapters. Hopefully the end is happy enough to make up for all the sadness. Lol.**

 **To dbz432: I can't say if she did or not, but you'll find out in this chapter. Thanks for the review, hon! :)**

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Gone Too Soon**

 **Trunks' POV:**

"Yo, Trunks! Wait up, man!"

Trunks was racing through the night sky, desperate to find Pan, when he heard a voice calling out to him over the rush of wind in his ears. Stopping abruptly, he turned to find Goten speeding toward him. The lavender-haired man rolled his eyes in frustration at the interruption. He needed to find Pan. For some reason, she wasn't hiding herself anymore and he didn't know how long that would last. He might only have seconds or minutes left to find her and that knowledge filled him with an impatience that quickly morphed into annoyance at his friend.

"What do you want, Goten?" Trunks snapped when the other boy had finally caught up to him. "I'm kind of in a hurry." As if to demonstrate, he turned back around and started flying again, Goten following at his side.

"You're going after Pan, aren't you?" his friend asked. He was close enough to Trunks that he didn't have to shout anymore over the wind that whipped at their faces.

"Yeah," he replied, glancing sideways at the other boy. "How'd you know?"

"I felt her, too," Goten told him. "So did Gohan. He called me as I was heading out the door. He said he'll meet up with us along the way." Trunks merely nodded at that. He wasn't sure if he was happy about having his stepbrothers there when he reunited with Pan, but there was no way he could stop them from looking for their baby sister. "So, why were you fighting with my dad?" Goten asked after only a few seconds of silence.

"It was nothing," Trunks lied, not in the mood to explain what had happened between him and Goku. That would require telling Goten about his relationship with Pan and it wasn't the time for that. He had to focus on finding her.

"It didn't seem like nothing. I passed your mom when I was heading downstairs to find out what that loud crash was. She was really upset and she said it was because you & my dad got into it, but she didn't say why you were fighting. She just stormed past me and into her bedroom, and then she slammed the door so hard the house shook. It had to be pretty serious to piss her off that bad."

"It doesn't take a lot to make her mad."

"Yeah, but-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Goten," Trunks barked, his anxiety increasing the closer he got to Pan. If she decided to suppress her ki again when he was so close to finding her, he'd go insane.

"All right, fine," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender before lowering them to his sides again.

The two Saiyans flew in silence for another minute or so before Trunks sensed Gohan approaching on his right.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, his tone light but his face serious. The older brother in him was determined to find his younger sister and make sure she was okay.

"Hey," the boys answered in unison.

"That was quick," Goten commented.

"Yeah, well, this is kind of important," Gohan stated.

"Yeah. Good thing we're almost there," his younger brother observed. _Thank God_ , Trunks thought to himself.

"I hope she's all right," the older Saiyan muttered. His words were almost lost in the wind, but Trunks was able to catch them.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Gohan glanced at him, concern clear in his eyes. "What if she's hurt? What if that's why we can suddenly sense her? Maybe she got injured and her mind couldn't focus on suppressing her ki anymore; or maybe it's her way of calling for help."

"Shit," Goten muttered.

Panic shot through Trunks and he increased his speed, flying as fast as he could until he was right on top of the area where Pan's ki signature was coming from.

"Holy crap," Gohan uttered as they descended. "It's Mount Paozu's, guys. We didn't think she would, but she did- Pan came home."

"Why the hell would she do that?" Goten asked, his brow furrowed. "I know she was relieved when we moved."

"Pan told you that?" his older brother inquired.

"No. She didn't have to. I could just tell. I felt the same way."

"She must've been desperate to come back here, then."

"She shouldn't have left in the first place," Trunks growled. He sensed his two companions staring at him, no doubt confused by his tone, but he ignored them. Instead, he flew downward toward the light streaming from the windows of a lone house. _Time to come home, baby._

 **Pan's POV:**

 _Did I just lose my baby?_

Pan's small frame shook as she reached down with trembling fingers to touch the darkened fabric of her jeans. When she raised her hand again, she found it stained with blood. The sight of it on her fingers and comforter confirmed what she already knew: she was bleeding; pregnant women weren't supposed to bleed. In every movie she had ever seen, in every book she had ever read, vaginal bleeding during a pregnancy was bad and it always meant a… miscarriage. Pan closed her eyes and swallowed hard as the pain of yet another loss threatened to overwhelm her.

A familiar feeling soon began to settle in the center of Pan's chest, though, before spreading slowly outwards toward her extremities. Her fingers and toes tingled with the emotional numbness that had protected her for so long before all feeling was lost completely. The pain in her heart eased until her breathing slowed and she was able to open her eyes again.

Pan looked down at her bloody jeans one last time before walking slowly to the bathroom down the hall from her bedroom. After closing the door behind her, she immediately turned the shower on. While she waited for the water to warm, Pan stripped off all of her clothes. With her pants and her underwear gone, she could see the blood more clearly, the crimson color stark against her pale flesh.

The sight of it sent fresh pain through her chest, and when Pan glanced in the mirror at her reflection, she saw her armor cracking; the façade put in place to protect her was crumbling, falling away to reveal her quivering chin and her tear-filled eyes. She wanted the numbness to return, needed it desperately, but it seemed that her body was unable to stifle the amount of pain she was experiencing at that moment. This time it was too much for her to ignore. In the few short days since she had found out that she was pregnant, Pan had grown to love her unborn child immensely, and now... The baby that was growing inside of her, that was a _part_ of her, was, in all likelihood, gone. The last piece of Trunks that she had was gone.

Steam started to fill the room, fogging up the mirror and pulling Pan's attention back to the running water. There was a part of her that knew she had to go to the hospital, but her emotions overshadowed all rational thought and the only thing she could think to do was wash the reminder of her loss off her skin. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror, Pan was able to hold it together until she stepped into the shower; but the moment she felt the hot water spray on her skin, all remnants of strength deserted her. Sinking down to the floor, Pan wrapped her arms around her knees and cried.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

She could already see the pity in their eyes and hear their empty condolences. Everyone would tell her that everything was going to be okay, but most of those people didn't know what it felt like to lose someone. They didn't know the crippling agony that accompanied it. Pan knew and she didn't think that she would be able to come out of it this time unscathed; she didn't think she'd be able to survive it. A part of her had literally died and she'd never get it back.

Pan continued to sit on the floor of the bathtub, eyes closed and head resting on her knees, even after the water began to lose its warmth, her body too weary to move and her mind too preoccupied to care. Thoughts began and wandered off without ever fully forming. She was even beginning to hear faint voices calling out to her. _I think I've finally lost my mind,_ she thought despondently.

The voices were quickly growing louder, bombarding her, calling out her name repeatedly. They sounded too real to her to be in her head, but she couldn't find the strength to acknowledge them, to even open her eyes. The voices- male voices- were soon accompanied by the feel of hands on her body. Pan noticed vaguely that she could no longer feel the spray of water from the shower on her skin, but was instead wrapped in something soft and warm.

Finally forcing her eyes open, Pan peaked through slitted lids and saw something white around her body- a towel, she realized. A pair of arms were also wrapped around her, cradling her against a hard chest, a familiar chest. Pan reached weakly for one of the hands gripping her and for the safety that it seemed to promise.

"Pan?" One of the voices she had heard earlier was calling her name again. This time, though, it spoke directly into her ear.

Raising her head, Pan's eyes connected with a pair of crystal blue ones. "Trunks?" she muttered weakly.

"Yeah," Trunks confirmed, giving her a watery smile. "it's me. Your brothers are here, too." He nodded to his right where Gohan and Goten were kneeling next to them, matching expressions of concern on their faces.

"Panny, what happened?" Gohan asked, the doctor in him seeming to take over. "Are you all right?"

"I…." She glanced at Trunks again, whose eyes were searching her face as if he'd be able to figure out what was wrong with her that way. How was she going to tell him that she'd been pregnant, but that she'd lost the baby? Her eyes welled with tears again at the thought and she couldn't stop her voice from cracking as she said, "I don't know."

"What are your symptoms?" her oldest brother asked.

"Shut up, Gohan," Goten snapped. "Let's at least get her to the hospital before you start diagnosing her."

"Right," he agreed. "Can you walk, Panny?"

"Wait," Pan told them. "Can I talk to Trunks alone first, please?" She knew that she had to go to the hospital, but she had to tell Trunks about their baby- and its death- before she told anyone else. The looks on all three of the men's faces, though, told her that they didn't think that was a good idea. "Please?" she asked again, her eyes pleading.

Gohan sighed. "Fine," he relented. "Make it quick, though. I have no idea what's wrong with you, but I think we should get you checked out as soon as possible."

"Okay," Pan said with a slight nod.

Her two brothers filed out, Goten closing the door behind him to give them the privacy Pan had requested. When they were gone, she focused her gaze on Trunks again. The corners of his mouth were turned down in a frown and his brow was furrowed with obvious anxiety.

"Pan, I don't think this is a good idea," he told her, his voice laced with trepidation. "We have to get you to the hospital." He took a deep breath before continuing, his next words surprising Pan. "I know about the baby."

"What?" she whispered.

"I know about the baby," Trunks repeated. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, the sight of it breaking Pan's heart. She was going to be the one responsible for wiping it off of his face. "So we need to get you two to the hospital to make sure everything's-"

"There's no baby, Trunks," she interrupted him, her voice hollow and devoid of emotion. Pan wanted to be strong for him, but she could feel more tears pricking at the back of her eyes. God. She was so tired of crying all the time.

Like she had predicted, Trunks' smile fell away, confusion taking its place. "No baby? You're not-? B-but I was so sure. You were sick and then I found a pregnancy test in the trash-"

"I _was_ pregnant, but I don't think I am anymore. I can't be," she whispered, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. Her voice shook as she continued. "There was blood. There isn't supposed to be blood, Trunks."

"Blood…" he trailed off. Pan saw his jaw clench and she noticed him swallow hard before his face hardened. Suddenly he was on his feet, her still cradled in his arms.

"Trunks, what-" she started, confused by his sudden behavior.

"We're going to the hospital," he interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Right now. You should've gone as soon as you knew there was a problem."

"I know, but I…" Pan trailed off, knowing he was right and feeling ashamed that she had let her emotions get the better of her, again; but what was the point of going? To hear the doctor tell her what she already knew? She wasn't ready for it to be official. Maybe that was why she had put off going. She imagined the doctor telling her that her baby was gone, gone before it had even had a chance to live, and her heart clenched painfully in her chest, causing tears to spring to her eyes and her hands to clutch tightly at the front of Trunks' shirt as he walked with purpose out of the bathroom and into the living room where her brothers were waiting.

"Gohan," Trunks called. The older man, who was sitting on the couch, immediately stood and closed the distance between them.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," the purple-haired man replied. "I just need to ask you something first, though."

"What is it?"

"What do you know about pregnancies?"

"Trunks!" Pan gasped.

"Quiet, Pan," Trunks told her sternly.

She stared up at the man holding her with wide, panicked eyes. Pan knew her brother. He was a smart man, a damn doctor for God's sake; he was going to figure out that Trunks' question had to do with her. As predicted, Gohan glanced at her, his brow furrowed, before turning his attention back to Trunks.

"You know I'm not an obstetrician, Trunks, but I do have a general knowledge of it." His narrowed eyes looked between Pan and Trunks. "Why do you ask?"

"Because-" Trunks started.

"Don't, Trunks," Pan interrupted. "Please."

"No more secrets, Pan," he said angrily, his blue eyes burning intensely as he stared down at her. "We can't afford to fuck around. This is too serious." Pan cringed at his harsh tone, but she remained silent, not daring to argue. He was right, of course; her secrets were only hurting them at this point. She squeezed her eyes shut as Trunks focused his gaze on Gohan again. "Pan's pregnant."

"No, I'm not," Pan insisted, her eyes popping open.

"Damn it, Pan," Trunks growled. "I said no more secrets."

"And I said I'm not pregnant," she snapped. "Not anymore." Her voice broke on the last word and she saw Trunks' expression soften slightly.

"We don't know that for sure," he said.

"Pan… you're pregnant?" she heard Goten ask her.

Pan reluctantly turned her head to look at her brothers. She was afraid that they'd be looking at her with disgust or shame, but they weren't; their faces expressed only worry.

"Not anymore," she repeated in a strained voice.

"We don't know for sure," Trunks said again. "She was bleeding, but that doesn't mean she lost the baby. Gohan, can you tell us anything?"

"Get Pan dressed first," he told him. "I'll tell you what I know on the way to Wukong."

"You want _me_ to dress Pan?" the lavender-haired Saiyan asked.

"We know you're the father, dumbass," Goten answered. "There's clearly something going on between you two, so yeah, _you_ can help her get dressed. Now hurry the hell up. We'll be waiting outside."

While the boys waited outside, Trunks helped Pan into some sweatpants and a loose fitting t-shirt. Two minutes later, they were airborne again, Pan once again in Trunks' arms. She clung tightly to him while she listened to him and her oldest brother talk.

"So what do you know, Gohan?" Trunks asked again.

"Well, like you said, bleeding doesn't always mean a miscarriage," he said.

"What else could it be?"

"I'm not sure. It could be because of the hormonal changes of pregnancy or even an infection." Pan saw Gohan glance at her briefly. "I'm hoping for the best, though."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The Wukong Hospital emergency room was crowded that night, full of sick and injured people waiting to be seen by a doctor, but Trunks had used his power and influence to make sure Pan was admitted right away. She felt guilty that she'd received special treatment, but she also couldn't help but feel grateful for Trunks and his connections.

Pan- followed by Trunks who had refused to stay behind with Gohan and Goten in the waiting room- had been quickly ushered into a hospital room where a nurse had taken her vitals and then left to get the doctor, who'd arrived just a few minutes later. He had asked her a series of questions, jotting down her answers on a clipboard.

"How far along are you, Miss Son?" he had asked her.

"I'm not sure," she'd replied, trying her best to remain stoic. "About a month, I guess."

"But you're worried that you had a miscarriage?"

"Yes," Pan had told him, her voice almost breaking.

"Well let us hope that's not the case. Now, are you experiencing any pain? Cramping for example?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Abdominal or lower back pain?"

"No."

"Vaginal bleeding?" All Pan had been able to do was nod her head in reply at that.

"Was it a heavy flow or was it just some light spotting?"

"It was enough," she'd snapped, his questions wearing on her nerves.

"I'm sorry, Miss Son. I know this must be difficult for you." _You've no idea_ , she had thought. "I'm going to have the nurse take you upstairs for an ultrasound. Hopefully that'll give us some answers."

A nurse was currently leading Pan and Trunks to a separate room on the third floor of the hospital where the ultrasound equipment was kept. When they had arrived, the nurse handed her a paper thin gown to put on. After changing into it, she was told to lay down on an uncomfortable looking table. Once Pan was settled on top of it, the nurse handed her a blanket, instructing her to cover her lower half but to leave her stomach exposed. A few moments later, a middle aged brunette woman entered the room.

"Miss Son, I presume," the woman greeted with a smile.

"Yes," Pan said, offering her a shy smile in return.

"I'm Dr. Hudson." The doctor offered her hand to Pan and then to Trunks. "Are you the husband?" she asked.

"Yes," Trunks answered before Pan could say anything. He glanced at her, daring her to disagree. "I am."

"Well," Dr. Hudson started, "let's get started, shall we?"

"Sure," Pan said with a small nod.

After putting on some latex gloves, Dr. Hudson took a seat next to where Pan was lying and pulled out a tube of lubricating jelly. "This is going to be a bit cold," she warned. She squeezed some of the tube's contents onto Pan's skin and then, using a microphone-like object, she spread the jelly over the expanse of her abdomen. "All right, let's see what's going on with your baby."

Pan turned her head away and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the black and white computer screen. She didn't want to see inside her lifeless womb. Pan felt Trunks' large hand grip her smaller one and squeeze, silently comforting her.

A minute passed and during that time, Pan couldn't help but imagine the worst case scenario. The doctor would finish the examination and look at her with pity in her eyes. She would tell Pan that she had, indeed, miscarried and that they would now have to do an invasive procedure to remove the baby from her womb. The thought of being separated from her child so soon made Pan's heart ache and caused her fingers to tighten around Trunks' hand.

After a few more moments had passed, Pan took a deep breath and, opening her eyes and turning her head to look at the doctor, she asked, "My baby's gone, isn't it?"

The doctor removed her eyes from the computer screen and met Pan's gaze. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Not at all," she said. "Your baby is fine."

"Thank God," Pan heard Trunks say.

"What?" the dark-haired girl whispered. She had to have misheard the doctor… but then why was she smiling. If she had miscarried, Pan doubted that her doctor would be smiling.

"Your baby is fine," Dr. Hudson repeated, smiling wider.

Pan stared at her for a heartbeat longer and then she turned her head to look at Trunks. He was smiling wider than the doctor and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He let out a small laugh when his eyes connected with Pan's. She felt her heart soar with relief as the doctor's words finally began to sink in; and then she burst into tears.

 **Trunks' POV:**

Fine. Their baby was fine. The back of his eyes burned with hot tears and he couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh when Pan looked at him, her face full of disbelief. Finally, he felt like he could breathe again.

Ever since Gohan had suggested that Pan might be hurt, Trunks' chest had felt constricted and it had been difficult for him to draw in the smallest of breaths. The feeling had only intensified when he'd stormed into Pan's old house, straight into her bedroom, and found blood on the blanket of her bed. He could've sworn that his heart had stopped in that moment. Trunks and the boys had then started frantically searching the house, calling out Pan's name. It hadn't taken Trunks long to find her, having heard the faint sound of running water coming from the end of the hall bathroom almost immediately after leaving Pan's bedroom.

He had entered the bathroom without bothering to knock to find Pan in an almost catatonic state. She hadn't responded to his voice or touch at first. Only after he had shut off the water, wrapped a towel around her and pulled her out of the bathtub did she finally open her eyes and acknowledge him. Trunks had been relieved that she seemed okay, but his relief hadn't lasted long.

When Pan had told him that she'd lost the baby, Trunks had been heartbroken; but that quickly morphed into anger. He'd found himself mad at Pan for not already having gone to the hospital and for running away without telling him that she was pregnant; he'd been angry at his parents for having driven Pan away and at the situation they had found themselves in- none of it should've been happening. Their relationship, their engagement, their baby… none of those things should've been a secret. If they hadn't been, maybe he wouldn't have ended up cradling Pan on a bathroom floor, worried that she might have miscarried their child.

Now, though, all Trunks felt was overwhelming relief that Pan and his unborn child were okay. The anxiety and tension that had had his body coiled like a spring melted away and Trunks leapt from his chair, pulling a sobbing Pan into his arms; the doctor merely watched with a soft smile on her face.

A couple of minutes passed before Pan finally peeled herself away from him, leaving behind a large wet spot on the front of his shirt from her tears. The doctor held out a box of tissues and Pan took several with a small murmur of thanks.

When she had composed herself, she turned to Dr. Hudson and asked, "But what about the bleeding? That couldn't have been normal."

"You're right," the brunette woman agreed. "No bleeding in early pregnancy is normal; but the good news is that most of the time it's caused by something fairly harmless."

"So why was I bleeding then?"

"Look here." The doctor handed them a printed picture of the ultrasound. Trunks couldn't make heads nor tails of the black and white picture, but thankfully the doctor could. She pointed at a minuscule blob. "This right here is the fetus." Then she pointed at a slightly larger black mass. "See how this kind of looks like it could be another placenta? Well it's not. It's a blood clot, also known as a subchorionic hematoma. That's what caused the bleeding."

"Oh, my God," Pan gasped.

The doctor smiled at her. "Sounds scary, I know, but you don't have to worry. The chance of miscarrying because of a SCH is between one and three percent. It's the most common sonographic abnormality found in the uterus and it usually goes away on its own. That being said, I still suggest that you take it easy for the remainder of your pregnancy."

"I'll do that," Pan told her. "Thank you, Dr. Hudson."

"You're very welcome," the other woman said with a bright smile. "Now, go ahead and get cleaned up and changed. Then please have a seat in the waiting room while we prepare your discharge papers. I'll also include some references for some excellent obstetricians. Make sure you schedule frequent appointments with one of them. You can never be too safe. Good luck, you two."

"Thank you," they both replied and then the doctor was gone.

Once Pan had cleaned the lubricant off of her belly and had gotten dressed, the pair left the room, Trunks' arm wrapped protectively around Pan's shoulders. He couldn't have her close enough. If she would've let him, Trunks would've lifted her into his arms again and carried her all the way home.

They had almost made it to the waiting room when a familiar head of black hair caught Trunks' eye. "Goku?" Trunks brow furrowed in confusion. Why was he here? Did the boys tell him that Pan was there and he came to see her?

The older Saiyan, who'd had his head in his hands, looked up and Trunks was struck by the pained look on his face. When Goku saw Pan, he smiled softly, but the pain was still clear in his eyes.

"Panny… I'm so glad that Trunks found you," he said quietly, his voice hoarse. Had he been crying? "I've missed you so much, sweetie. What are you doing here, though?"

It was obvious to Pan that something was wrong with her dad because she ignored his question and instead asked, "Dad, what happened? What's wrong? Why are _you_ here?"

Goku looked at the two of them with moist eyes. Trunks noticed him swallow repeatedly before he finally answered. "It's Bulma."

Trunks' heart filled with dread. _How much more can a guy take?_ he thought bitterly. "What happened to her?" he asked in as calm of a voice as he could manage.

His stepfather swallowed again. "She- we-" He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly before continuing. "She lost the baby."

 **Author's Note:**

How was it? Did any of you think that Pan had lost the baby? Bleeding doesn't always equal miscarriage like Pan thought. You can't blame her for thinking that, though. Anyway… Leave a review if you're in a charitable mood & I'll update again when I can (I have to file taxes for a couple of people, so it'll be a couple of weeks at least :/)

-Chels xoxo


	22. Untitled

**Yay! The chapter is finally done! I'm sorry again that it took me so long to get this chapter out. I hope it was worth the wait. It's not as long as I'd planned it to be, but it's something, right? Enjoy!**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hey, hon! Sorry it took me so long to update. It sucks that Bulma lost the baby. My mom miscarried when I was about ten, so I know how terrible it is. I was going to try to fit Goku's & Bulma's reaction to Pan's pregnancy in this chapter, but I couldn't. Next one for sure, though **

**To Sailor Saiyan007: Hey! You did call it. Lol. I hated doing it, though. Your dad might be worse than mine. I hope he calmed down after a boyfriend or two. Lol. My dad's pretty chill about it now. I love the Broly movie! I've been rewatching all the DBZ movies & I can't wait to rewatch that one. The second & third Broly movies- especially the third- aren't as good, though, in my opinion. I still like them, of course, but the first Broly movie is definitely the best. I'm really sorry I made you wait so long for the update. The next one won't take as long, I promise **

**To Nadz: Hi! Thanks for the review** **I'm glad you like the story. I hope you keep liking it. Lol. I miss Vegeta, too. That little flashback with him in one of the earlier chapters is one of my favorite parts of the story. He's so fun to write. I'm kind of sad that so many of you predicted Bulma's miscarriage. Maybe I should've had her keep the baby just to throw you all off. Lol. Thanks again for reviewing** **❤️**

 **To Fan: It's sad that Bulma lost her baby, but I agree that it would've complicated things if she hadn't. The next chapter will have Bulma's & Goku's reaction to Pan's pregnancy. I couldn't get to it in this one, unfortunately. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Thanks for the review **

**To Guest: Hi there! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story. I love Trupan, too. I've been all about them since I saw GT. Lol. I definitely plan on writing more stories about them. Feel free to PM me anytime with your ideas or you can share them in a review**

 **To Guest: Hi! You're too sweet. I'm doing really well, thank you. Also, thank you for reviewing** **❤️** **Your review was pretty recent, so hopefully you weren't waiting too long for this chapter**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Untitled**

 **Pan's POV:**

"It's all my fault."

Pan, who was sitting beside Trunks in the hospital waiting room, shifted in her seat to look at the lavender-haired boy. His head was bowed, his face obscured by his purple locks.

"What're you talking about, Trunks?" she asked, confused. "What's your fault?"

Trunks lifted his hand and gestured at the double doors that separated the waiting room from the rest of the hospital; doors that they had recently been on the other side of. "My mom is here because of me."

Pan's eyes widened. "Trunks, that's ridiculous. Why would you think that?"

A pair of guilt-ridden blue eyes met Pan's dark gaze. "Your dad and I got into a fight earlier tonight and my mom got in the middle of it."

"A fight…?" the raven-haired girl echoed. Pan eyed the swelling and discoloration around Trunks' right eye. She'd noticed it earlier, but hadn't had a chance to ask him about it yet, her mind having been solely focused on her baby. "Is that how you got the black eye? Did my dad hit you?"

"Yeah, he did." Trunks chuckled humorlessly. "Sent me flying across the fucking kitchen and into a damn wall."

Her eyes widened. "But why?" she asked. "You and my dad have always gotten along really well. Why would he hit you?"

"Because I told him everything," he said, his eyes boring into Pan's. "They had to know that they were the reason why you left, so I told them. I also told them that you and I had been together for a while." He laughed dryly again. "Your dad obviously didn't like that too much," he added, gesturing at his eye.

Pan's heart was pounding and her mouth had fallen open at the revelation that her dad now knew about them. She knew that it was long over due, that it was a good thing that he finally knew, but she still couldn't help the anxiety she felt. Was he mad at her? Was he ashamed of her? It didn't seem like he was, if their brief encounter a few minutes ago was anything to go by; but uncertainty still nagged at Pan. _Wait… did Trunks say that he'd told them_ everything _?_ The thought made her heart stutter in her chest.

"Trunks," she started, wary of what his answer might be, "you didn't tell my dad about… you know. You didn't tell him I was pregnant… did you?"

"No," he told her with a slight shake of his head. "I wasn't positive that you were at the time. Even if I did, I don't know if I would've said anything about it. Actually, no, I definitely would've said something."

That last part didn't exactly comfort her, but Pan was relieved that her dad and his mom didn't know about her baby. She wasn't ready to tell him about it yet, especially not now, after they'd just lost their own child.

"So you think that fight caused your mom's miscarriage?" Pan asked, returning to their original conversation.

Trunks nodded. "Yeah. It really upset her. She broke it up and then stormed away. She was so angry at your dad. Maybe at me, too, I don't know. I'm sure she didn't like that I said her pregnancy ruined everything." Pan gasped. "I know it was a terrible thing to say, but I was angry and I believed it. A fucked up part of me still does. I mean, you ran away because of it."

"I ran away because of both of our pregnancies," Pan muttered, her words too quiet for Trunks to hear.

"So, yeah," he continued, "it's my fault. None of that could've been good for the baby."

Silence fell over the two Saiyans while Pan contemplated Trunks' words. It didn't take her long, though, to decide that he was wrong, and she had no problem telling him so. He simply shook his head in response and resumed staring at the floor, his hair falling over his face like a curtain.

Pan sighed deeply before sitting back in the hard uncomfortable hospital chair. She knew that Bulma's miscarriage wasn't Trunks' fault, but she didn't know how to convince _him_ of that. The only people who could possibly put his mind at ease were somewhere behind the double doors across the room.

The young Saiyan glanced at them as she recalled unexpectedly running into her dad in the hospital hallway a short while ago. Her relief and happiness at the news she had just received about her baby had been short lived, quickly replaced by shock when she and Trunks had learned why he was there. Neither of them had any idea what to say at first…

 _ **One Hour Earlier:**_

"She- we-" Her father paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly before continuing. "She lost the baby."

Pan gasped. Trunks' arm tightened around her shoulders, his entire body tensing up at his stepdad's words. A heavy silence fell as Pan tried to figure out how she felt about what she had just heard. Was she sad? Relieved? Both? Bulma's pregnancy had complicated her and Trunks' relationship, but was she happy that her stepmom's baby, her brother or sister, was dead?

No, she quickly concluded. She wasn't happy about it. Pan hated that Bulma had to feel what she had felt earlier; the overwhelming sadness of losing a child. She wouldn't wish that on anyone. Still, Pan couldn't help but feel slightly relieved and she hated herself for it.

"Can we see her?" Trunks asked, after a few long seconds of silence. His voice was quiet, but unmistakably strained.

Goku was about to answer when a nurse approached them, asking to speak to him privately. "Of course," he told her, before turning back to Pan and Trunks. "How about you kids go wait out in the reception area? I'll come get you when Bulma's ready to see you."

"Okay," Pan replied. "The boys are here, too, by the way. I'll tell them what happened."

"Thanks, sweetie." He was about to turn toward the nurse when he suddenly spoke again. "Pan, wait. Why are your brothers here? Why are _you_ here? Is everything okay?"

Pan's heart rate accelerated and her mind searched wildly for a believable excuse as to why they were at the hospital. She couldn't tell him the truth, not yet. "Um, well…" she started, hoping her stammering would buy her a few more seconds to come up with a decent lie.

"Mr. Son," the nurse interrupted. She glanced nervously between Pan and her father before saying, "I'm so sorry, but I really must speak with you."

"Oh, right, sorry," Goku replied, smiling sheepishly. "Go on, kids. I shouldn't be too long."

As they walked away toward the doors that led back to the waiting room, Pan caught some of what the nurse was saying to her father. "Your wife is very upset, Mr. Son, which is understandable, but she's not letting the doctor or any of the nurses into her room. Could you maybe talk to her? It's important that we-"

The nurse's voice was cut off as Trunks and Pan passed through the double doors and entered the waiting room. Pan spotted Gohan and Goten surprisingly quickly in the crowded room. As she and Trunks made their way over to them, Pan noticed that two more people had joined her brothers; two women- one with dark hair and the other with blue.

"Bulla and Videl?" Pan muttered.

"Someone must have called them, told them what happened," Trunks stated.

Pan glanced at her best friend and sister-in-law as they got closer before looking at her brothers. Gohan and Goten were seated between the two girls, with Bulla on Goten's right and Videl on Gohan's left. Her oldest brother was the first one to notice them as they approached.

"Pan." He stood and pulled his sister into his arms. "I was about to march in there and see what the hell was taking so long. It's almost midnight, for god's sake." Gohan released her, but kept his hands on her slim shoulders. His eyes, the same shape and color as hers, searched her face. "So? What did the doctor say?"

Despite what her dad had just told her about Bulma, Pan couldn't help but smile as she told her brother the good news. "The baby's fine. I didn't lose it."

"Thank God," Goten said, standing as well to embrace Pan. When he released her, he smiled down at her and added, "You know I'm going to spoil the kid, right?"

"So you're going to try to make Pan's baby like you more than me?" Gohan asked him, an amused smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "What if I want to be the fun uncle?"

"You're too old, man," their brother teased. "You'll probably throw out your back if you try to pick the kid up."

Pan laughed at her two brothers as they continued to argue playfully. Her laughter died quickly, though, when her eyes landed on Videl and Bulla. Her sister-in-law gave her a small smile when their eyes met.

"Hey, Pan," she greeted.

"Hey, Videl. Gohan called you and Bulla, didn't he?"

"Well…" Videl trailed off, her eyes landing on her husband. Pan followed her gaze to find that Gohan's smile had disappeared, a deep frown now in its place.

"Gohan?" Pan asked. "You called them, right? You told them we were here?"

"I called Videl," Gohan answered. "But Bulla…" he'd trailed off. He glanced at the bluenette and Pan did the same. She noticed for the first time that her friend's eyes were filled with unshed tears. Gohan's eyes returned to Pan's as he and Goten sat back down. "She came in with Dad and her mom not too long after we got here. She said Bulma was experiencing abdominal pain."

"She was in so much pain." Five sets of eyes landed on Bulla at the sound of her quiet, watery voice. The blue -haired girl got to her feet and Immediately embraced Pan. The darker-haired girl allowed her friend to cling to her, offering what little comfort she could. "What if she doesn't make it? What if she loses the baby? What if something happens to both of them?" Bulla sobbed into Pan's shoulder, her warm tears soaking through the fabric of the latter girl's shirt.

Pan's heart clenched. She didn't know. Bulla didn't know that her mom had lost the baby. Why hadn't her dad told her yet? He knew she was waiting to know whether or not her mom and the baby were okay. If he had told her, told all of them, he could have spared Pan the terrible task of doing it.

Unless… Maybe her dad had barely been told the news himself before she and Trunks ran into him in the hallway. He was probably still reeling at the revelation of losing a child and hadn't had a chance to tell anyone yet. Pan couldn't blame him for that. She knew what that felt like, having thought she had lost her own baby only a few hours earlier.

Gently disentangling herself from Bulla, Pan took a step back and met the bluenette's teary gaze. It was now or never. She already told her dad she'd tell her brothers. What difference would a couple more people make? Pan glanced at Goten, who was tapping his foot impatiently on the linoleum floor; she looked at Gohan, who had his arm around Videl's shoulders. They had all lost a sibling today, and no matter how they felt about the baby, even if they resented it, they deserved to know.

Inhaling deeply, Pan returned her gaze to Bulla and, without any preamble, said, "She _did_ lose the baby. I'm sorry, Bee, but she did."

The blue-haired girl's eyes widened and pooled with fresh tears. "H-how do y-you know that? Did y-you see her?" Her blue eyes cut to her brother. "Did you see Mom, Trunks?"

Trunks, who still stood beside Pan, shook his head. "No, we di-"

"Then how do you know?" Bulla interrupted, her voice rising.

"If you'd calm the hell down, I'd tell you," Trunks snapped. Nerves were wearing thin and tensions were running high. Bulla had always been overly sensitive and emotional, and Trunks seemed to be wound extremely tight. Pan had to diffuse the situation before things escalated.

" _Both_ of you calm down," Pan told them, placing a hand on each of their arms. She could feel Bulla shaking with emotion, but Trunks seemed to relax slightly at her touch.

"How do you know?" the bluenette repeated, this time directing the question at Pan and not her brother.

"We saw my dad as we were on our way out," she explained. "He told us. I think he had just found out and that's why he hasn't told you himself yet."

A few tears slid down Bulla's cheeks as she nodded her head once. "My mom must be devastated. How is she? Do you know if she's okay?"

"I'm not sure exactly," Pan admitted. "I overheard a little of my dad and a nurse talking. She said your mom isn't handling the news very well, but she didn't say how she was doing otherwise. From what I could gather, though, I think she's physically okay. She's giving the nurses and the doctor hell from the sound of it."

A small smile formed on her friend's face. "That sounds like Mom." She sniffled and wiped the tears from her face, her eyes red and puffy. "I'm glad she's okay. It sucks what happened to the baby, but I don't know what I would've done if my mom had died. She's still so young and-"

"Bulla, shut the fuck up," Trunks growled.

Bulla turned her head to glare at her brother, but her expression softened when her eyes caught Pan's for a brief moment. The pain on her face must've been obvious and it didn't take her best friend long to figure out the cause of it. Her blue eyes widened as she realized what she had said.

"Oh, my god, Panny, I am so sorry," she apologized. "That was a freaking stupid thing to say. I wasn't thinking. I'm such a bitch." Bulla glanced at Gohan and Goten, who both wore expressions similar to Pan's. "I'm sorry," she said again, before hanging her head in shame.

"It's okay, Bee," Pan said, offering her a tight smile. It was only partially true.

The dark-haired girl forgave her friend, but her comment had still struck a nerve within Pan. She wished she had been as lucky as Bulla; she wished her mom was still alive. When her mom had died, Pan didn't know what to do. So, apart from finishing high school, she just did nothing, felt nothing. The most she had done was go through the motions. It was a terrible way to live and she was glad that Bulla didn't have to experience it. Glad, but still envious.

"I'm still sorry, Pan," Bulla muttered again, eyes still downcast. "Really, I am."

"I know," she told her friend. "Don't worry about it, okay?" Bulla said nothing, simply nodding in reply.

"Pan, let's go find a place to sit," Trunks suggested, still glaring at his sister, even though she wasn't looking at him. "We might be here for a while."

"All right," Pan replied, following behind Trunks as he led her away from their friends and family.

"I'm happy your baby is okay, Panny."

Pan turned around at the sound of Bulla's voice. "Thanks, Bee. Me, too," she said, smiling, before turning back to Trunks.

There were no available seats next to her brothers and the girls, so Trunks and Pan were forced to sit beside a woman with a crying toddler a couple of rows away. The two Saiyans sat there in silence for a while. Pan could tell that something was bothering Trunks. His jaw was clenched and his hands were formed into fists, the skin over his knuckles white from the strain. She knew that it wasn't Bulla's words that had made him so upset, so for the next thirty or forty minutes, Pan sat there, trying to figure out what was bothering him.

 _ **Present:**_

Now she knew. He thought Bulma's miscarriage was his fault. Pan knew that it wasn't. It was mere coincidence and she hoped that he would understand that sooner or later.

Pan had been so lost in her memories that she hadn't notice that someone had walked out of the doors that she was still staring at until a familiar voice brought her back to the present. Blinking a couple of times, Pan realized that it was her father. He was talking to Bulla and the others. His hushed voice carried over to where she and Trunks sat, but she couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.

"Trunks." Pan tapped his arm to get his attention. His head was still bowed, his eyes still trained on the floor, so he hadn't noticed her father yet. He looked up, his blue eyes meeting her dark brown ones. She pointed at her dad and Trunks instantly perked up when he realized what she was pointing at. "Let's go ask him about your mom."

Trunks nodded, and then the couple stood and made their way back to where the others sat. When they reached them, Pan immediately noticed that Bulla looked relieved and a lot calmer than she had been earlier. _Her mom must be okay_ , Pan thought, trying not to let jealousy outweigh the happiness she felt for her friend.

"Can we see my mom now?" Trunks asked Goku, impatience clear in his tone.

Her dad looked at him with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, Trunks. I just got through telling your sister that your mom can't see anyone right now. She's okay, there weren't any complications, but she was really upset. They had to give her something to calm her down. She'll probably be asleep for the rest of the night."

"But I have to see her," Trunks insisted. "I have to talk to her. I have to tell her that I know it's my fault and that I'm sorry."

Goku's brow furrowed in obvious confusion. "You think you're the reason we lost the baby?"

"I know I am. You are, too, and that stupid fucking fight we got in to."

Understanding dawned on her father's face. He smiled sympathetically at the purple-haired Saiyan. "You know I thought the same thing when the doctor told us what had happened. I was so angry; at you, at myself. I thought it was our fault, too; but it wasn't, Trunks."

"What are you talking about?" he asked incredulously. "Of course it is. We-"

Goku held up a hand, effectively cutting Trunks off. "I tried to apologize to your mom. I figured the stress from that fight caused her to miscarry, but I was wrong. The doctor said that stress doesn't directly cause a miscarriage. He told us that women your mother's age just can't carry a baby to term sometimes."

Pan saw the tension leave Trunks' body and relief replace the guilt on his face as her father's words sunk in. She couldn't help but be relieved herself; she hated knowing that Trunks was hurting.

"It's not my fault," he muttered, seemingly to himself.

"It's not," his stepdad told him. "So please stop worrying. Your mom wouldn't want that."

Trunks nodded. "Thank you, Goku," he said, giving him a small smile. "I would've never been able to forgive myself if my mom had lost the baby because of me."

"I know how you feel," Goku told him, patting him on the shoulder.

The bad blood between the two Saiyan men seemed to be gone, replaced by the shared love and concern they had for Bulma. Pan worried, though, that it would return when her father found out that she was pregnant and that Trunks was the father. Trunks never did say if the fight they had had earlier that day was resolved peacefully. Pan wondered if there was still some tension between the two and if it was only temporarily overshadowed by the day's events.

"Are you sure we won't be able to see my mom tonight?" Trunks asked.

"Positive," Goku replied. "You kids should go home and get some sleep. You can see her tomorrow. If she's in a better mood, that is. It might be a while before she's ready for visitors."

"That's a good idea," the younger Saiyan agreed. He looked at Pan with worried eyes. "I'm so sorry, Pan. I wasn't thinking. I should've taken you home right away. You need to rest."

 _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ Pan mentally screamed at him. Her dad was standing right next to them and there was no doubt in Pan's mind that he had heard every word Trunks had said. Trunks' words could pique his interest and he might start asking questions again about why she was at the hospital. Pan's only hope was to get out of there before that happened.

"All right." Pan grabbed Trunks' hand and began to pull him toward the exit. She had only taken a couple of steps, though, when she heard her dad call out to her, forcing to stop and reluctantly turn back towards him.

"Don't you have something to tell me, Pan?" he asked her. His tone wasn't angry, just concerned.

Pan considered feigning ignorance, but she was too tired to put in the effort. She was also too tired to tell him the truth. Pan sighed heavily as she met her dad's curious gaze. "Can we please talk about it tomorrow, Papa?" she asked. "I'm really exhausted and I just want to sleep right now."

Goku eyed her for a long moment before nodding. "Tomorrow then. Just promise me that it wasn't anything serious; that you're okay."

"I'm fine, I promise," Pan told him. She knew that he was probably scared that she was sick like her mother had been. As much as she dreaded telling him she was pregnant, Pan wanted to put his mind at ease. That would have to wait, though. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right." He nodded, before glancing at Trunks. "Get her home safe," he told the purple-haired boy.

"Of course." Trunks put his arm around Pan's shoulders as they turned to leave. He smiled down at her as he led her to the exit. "Ready to go home, Panny?"

She returned his smile with one of her own as they walked out into the cool September night. "More than ready," she replied.

 **Author's Note:**

So how was it? Again, I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long as I had planned it to be. Unfortunately, it took me longer than I expected to write what I did. This chapter was 10+ pages, though, excluding my replies to the reviews. That's good, right? Hopefully I'll get the rest of what I intended to write, & then some, posted before too long. Until then…

-Chels xoxo


	23. Me Without Us

**Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter. Finally, right? Again, I'm sorry for the super long wait. I hope you guys like this long overdue chapter**

 **P.S. Oh, & don't be mad at me, but Goku's & Bulma's reactions to Pan's pregnancy will not be in this chapter. Next one for sure, though. Please don't hate me.**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hey, girl! Yes, I'm writing again. Actually, I never stopped. I usually write a little each day. Not as much as I would like, though. Sometimes it's only a sentence or two if I'm having trouble focusing. That whole health scare thing did have me more unfocused than I've ever been for about a month, so I guess I did technically stop writing during all that :/ I hope you like the chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't get to Goku's reaction. Next one, I promise**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: Happy belated birthday again! I can't believe I posted last chapter on your birthday. What an awesome coincidence. I'm so happy that I could contribute to making your day a little better, no matter how unintentional it was. Lol. I'm sorry I kept you waiting for this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter** **I'm sorry Goku's reaction won't be until the next one :/**

 **To lone saiyan woman: Thanks for the review, hon! I definitely plan on writing more with T/P sometime in the future. I'm glad you liked this story. Thanks again for reviewing**

 **To Guest: Hi, hon. I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long. I hate to do that to you guys. Everything is good with me, thank you. I hope all is well with you, too** **Thank you for reviewing!**

 **To Guest: Hi! I'm so, so happy that you like the story. I love Trupan, too; I have since GT. I do plan to write more with them & I'd love to hear your ideas. PM me anytime ****Thank you for the review!**

 **To wynter89: Oh, my god, you totally made my day. Thank you so much! That's the best compliment a writer can receive, I think, and that was personally one of the best reviews I've ever gotten, though I am still sorry that I made you cry lol Thanks again!** **️**

 **To Messenger777: That was a lovely review. Thank you for that. I consider myself religious, but when things like a health scare happen, it's hard to remember to have faith. I needed that reminder, so thank you again**

 **To TeeLee123: Thanks for the review, hon! I'll have Goku's reaction to Pan's pregnancy next chapter, I promise. Pan does feel bad about Bulma's miscarriage and it'll show when she sees Bulma. It's funny you mentioned Korean dramas. My Filipino friends like them, too, and we just finished watching a soap opera like show. I can't remember the name. I think it had the word "house" in the title. Thank goodness it was subtitled or I would have been lost lol**

 **To Guest: I'm sorry I kept you waiting. Thanks for the review!**

 **To destiny18-au: Thank you for the review!**

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Me w/o Us**

 **Trunks**

Trunks' legs felt like lead as he ascended the staircase that lead to the second floor of his home, Pan following behind him. Each step was harder to climb than the last, the stairs seeming to go on for forever. That day had been one of the longest of his life and all he wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep for a day or two. Between everything that had happened at work- fighting off Celeste's advances and his afternoon of drinking- and everything that happened afterward, he was more exhausted than he had been in a long time. Even the short flight from Wukong Hospital- which was only a few blocks away from Capsule Corp- was almost too much for him.

When he and Pan finally reached the landing, Trunks headed straight to his room, but stopped short of opening the door when he sensed Pan was no longer beside him. Turning around, he noticed that she had stopped in front of her own bedroom, which was two doors down from his and the room closest to the stairs; his was the farthest.

"What are you doing?" Trunks asked just as Pan was about to step into her bedroom.

"I'm going to sleep," Pan replied simply.

"In your room?"

Pan's brow furrowed. "Yes," she said slowly, obviously confused. "Is that a problem? You didn't turn my room into a gym or an office while I was gone, did you?"

"No, of course not. I just thought…" Trunks' voice trailed off as he began to realize that he might have thought wrong.

"You thought what?" Pan asked when he didn't continue.

"I guess I just assumed that you'd sleep in my bed. With me. Like we used to do before you left."

"Oh." She bit her lip before bowing her head, a move that made it impossible for Trunks to read her expression.

Worry and doubt began to seep into his mind. Did she not want to be with him anymore? Was he foolish in thinking that just because she was home, just because she was pregnant with his child, that they'd pick up right where they had left off? That they'd be a family? What if she didn't want that? What if she didn't want _him_?

"Never mind. Forget it," Trunks said, pain squeezing his heart and making his chest tight. "Good night, Pan," he continued as he pushed open the door to his bedroom. He _was_ a fool.

"Trunks, wait."

Trunks paused in the doorway of his room, but he didn't turn around. As tired as he was, he knew he wouldn't be able to hide the hurt in his eyes with a mask of indifference, so he kept his back to her. His voice betrayed him, however.

"What?" he snapped. There was an obvious edge to his words that he knew Pan would immediately pick up on.

She was quiet for a long moment, so long that Trunks thought that she had managed to slip into her room without him noticing. He was about to turn around when her quiet voice finally reached his ears.

"You're mad." It wasn't a question.

Trunks opened his mouth to assure her that he wasn't; but with a sudden burst of clarity, he realized that that would be a lie. He _was_ mad. It was the same anger that he had felt after finding Pan practically catatonic on the floor of the bathtub; the same anger he had felt after she had told him that she thought she'd lost their baby; the same underlying anger that he had felt the whole time she had been gone. The feeling was forgotten while they were at the hospital, but it was simmering to the surface again now that things had calmed down and they were home.

"Yeah. I am, actually," Trunks said, still not facing her.

"Why?" Pan asked.

"Why?" he repeated, incredulously, finally turning to face her. "Are you serious?" Trunks noticed Pan take a small step back when she met his stormy blue eyes. A small part of him felt bad for scaring her, but a larger part didn't care. He was mad at her and he was going to make sure she knew what she did. "First of all, you left me Pan. I get that you were upset about our parents having a baby, but you could have at least tried to handle the situation like an adult instead of running away."

"Trunks-" she started, but Trunks interrupted her.

"Secondly, you left without telling me that you were pregnant with _my_ child."

"You never would've let me go if you knew that I was pregnant," she said in a small voice before Trunks could continue.

"You're damn right I wouldn't have," he growled. "I shouldn't have let you go in the first place, pregnant or not. What the hell were you thinking, Pan? It wasn't enough that you left me, but you also had to hide my own kid from me, too?"

"I thought I was doing the right thing," she snapped, suddenly defensive, her dark eyes narrowed in anger.

"How could you possibly think that leaving was the right thing?!" Trunks shouted, grateful that they were the only ones home at the moment. Pan flinched at the volume of his voice, so he took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm down. "I don't understand," he continued in a quieter, more subdued voice. "I get that you were upset because my mom was pregnant, but why did you have to run away? We could've gotten through it together."

"Yes, we could have," Pan agreed, sounding exasperated.

Surprise and concern washed away some of Trunks' anger; surprise because he didn't expect Pan to agree with him, and concern because the woman carrying his child was obviously stressed and exhausted. Trunks was debating whether or not to keep pushing Pan more than he already had or ending their conversation for the night. He was still trying to decide when Pan started speaking again.

"We could have gotten through it," she repeated, adding, "if I wasn't pregnant, too."

Trunks' brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't just leave because your mom was pregnant," Pan told him, shifting her gaze to the floor. "I left because I was, too."

"I knew it," Trunks muttered, more to himself than Pan. He'd had a feeling that that was part of the reason why she had left. "You didn't think I'd want to be a dad, did you?"

"Not exactly," she replied.

"'Not exactly'?" he repeated, frustrated. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't think that, not anymore. I may have thought that for a short time, but I don't now." Trunks stared at her, eyes narrowed, silently demanding her to elaborate. Pan sighed. "When I first found out that I was pregnant, I was scared to tell you, because I thought if you knew, you'd leave me. I-"

"But instead you're the one who ends up leaving," Trunks cut in. "Ironic, isn't it?"

Narrowing her eyes again, Pan said, "Thanks for pointing that out. The irony wasn't lost on me, though."

"Good. Do you also realize how ridiculous that is?"

He wouldn't even had considered leaving her. Not because she was pregnant, not for any reason. He loved her more than anything and he knew that they could overcome any obstacle if given the chance. It hurt him to know that Pan didn't have as much faith in their relationship as he did; or at least she didn't then. Trunks wasn't sure how she felt now.

"I know," she agreed. "I know you wouldn't leave me, not because I got pregnant anyway." _Not for any reason_ , Trunks was about to repeat aloud, but Pan continued speaking before he could. "Knowing that made it so much harder when I had to leave you."

"If it was so hard, then why did you do it?" Trunks was growing increasingly more impatient.

"I'm getting there," Pan snapped. He really had to stop interrupting her. It was obviously annoying her and it was just taking him longer to get the answers he so desperately wanted.

"Sorry," he said, reluctant in his anger to apologize, but doing so anyway.

Pan inhaled and released a deep breath before finally speaking again. "The day I found out that I was pregnant was also the day your mom told us that she was, too. Before she told us, I had planned on telling you about our baby. I didn't know how or when, but I swear to you that I was going to. Even though I was afraid you would leave me, I was still going to tell you."

Pan's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she pleaded silently for him to believe her. It was a sight that made Trunks want to envelop her in his arms, to hold her and reassure her that he'd never leave her; that he believed her. He forced his body to remain still, though, as she continued speaking.

"But then our parents…" Pan paused, shaking her head. "Everything was so complicated; I thought leaving was the only option. I couldn't let anyone know that I was pregnant, and if I stayed, it would have become real obvious, real quick."

"Would that really have been so bad?" Trunks asked, still not understanding.

"No," she said. "If you were someone else, it wouldn't have been bad at all."

The corners of Trunks' mouth pulled down in a frown. What did she mean by that? Was she saying that she wished he wasn't the father of her baby? It sounded like it; it sounded like she thought that it would be easier & she would be happier if she was with someone, anyone, who wasn't him. Anger and hurt raged inside his chest until he felt like he was going to explode from the pressure.

"I see," Trunks said through clenched teeth. "I think I understand now. I don't need to hear anymore. Good luck finding that 'someone else'."

The lavender-haired Saiyan was about to turn away from Pan and head to his room, but the sound of her voice made him pause. He didn't know why he stopped at the sound instead of ignoring her and proceeding to his bedroom, but he figured that it had something to do with the hope that he still felt; hope that he and Pan would get another chance.

"That's not what I meant, Trunks. I'm just saying that if you weren't the son of the woman that my dad had married, it would have been easier. There would have been no reason for me to leave."

"So it's my fault?" Trunks inquired angrily. "Are you seriously blaming _me_?"

"God, you are so frustrating," Pan growled, obviously annoyed. "Stop twisting my words." She marched up to him and poked him hard in the chest. "I'm not blaming you, and other than being the reason I'm still awake and in a bad mood, I don't think anything is your fault. Our situation is fucked up and complicated, but there is no one else I'd rather be with, no matter how much easier it would be.

"I'm sorry that I ran away, but I thought that we couldn't stay together because our parents were having a baby, and I knew that if you found out that I was pregnant, you would never let me end things between us. So I decided to leave before that happened. I regret it now, and not because you found that stupid test in the trash and not because you found _me_."

Pan's hand, still prodding him in the chest, unfurled until it was pressed flat over his heart. She inhaled deeply, tears suddenly glistening in her eyes. "My mom left me a letter, a letter that I didn't read until tonight. It put everything into perspective for me. If you hadn't found me, I still would've come home. It might not have been today or even tomorrow, but I would have come back. I love you, you big idiot, and I am so, so sorry for leaving."

Trunks stared down at the small Saiyan- who seemed even smaller in the baggy sweatpants and oversized shirt that he had dressed her in earlier that night- and he felt his anger begin to melt away. She loved him; she still wanted him.

Reaching up, Trunks gripped the hand that rested over his heart and whispered, "I love you, too, Panny."

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "But do you forgive me?"

Did he? The three days that Pan had been gone were some of the worst he had ever experienced. He had felt an agony that had went beyond physical, that had consumed him, and Pan was the reason for it. Even so, Trunks couldn't bring himself to resent her. She was forced to deal with more than anyone should, so how could he fault her for the rash decision that she had made? Even if he could, Trunks didn't want to live one more day with that empty ache in his heart. It was an emptiness that only Pan could fill. Did he forgive her? The answer was obvious.

"I do," Trunks told her, a smile once again spreading across his face. He released Pan's hand and cupped both of her cheeks, a smile of her own tugging at her lips and lightening her delicate features. His expression transformed into a stern one, however, as he said, "Never, _ever_ , do that again. Do you hear me?"

"Yes," Pan whispered, her smile also falling away and her eyes once again conveying the guilt and regret that Trunks knew she felt.

"And no more secrets," he added, reinforcing what he had said earlier at her old house. "It's my job to take care of you, but I can't do that if you aren't honest with me, so, please, no more."

"No more secrets," she repeated.

"Good," Trunks said, smiling briefly before leaning down and brushing his lips against Pan's.

Their first kiss in days was soft at first, tender and loving; but it quickly turned heated when Pan gripped Trunks' shoulders and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding across his lower lip before slipping inside his mouth. A low growl ripped from his throat as he pushed her up against the wall beside his bedroom door. His hands left her face and moved to her tiny waist, where they proceeded to slip underneath her shirt. The soft skin under his palms was smooth and hot as his hands continued their path upward. He felt Pan shiver from his touch and he heard her moan as he got closer to her breasts. Unfortunately, a voice halted his movements just as he was about to reach his destination.

"Oh, dear God."

Pan, obviously startled by the noise, pushed Trunks away. "Bulla," she gasped at the same moment Trunks' eyes located the bluenette, who was standing near the staircase.

"You guys seriously couldn't make it a few extra feet to one your bedrooms?" his little sister asked, annoyed.

"Sorry, Bee," Pan muttered. Trunks, however, remained silent; he wasn't the least bit sorry for what they had done. Instead, he found himself annoyed at his sister for interrupting them.

"Excellent timing," Trunks growled sarcastically.

"It was, actually," Bulla agreed. "A couple of minutes later and I might have seen something that would've scarred me for life."

"Stick around and you still might," Trunks replied with a smirk, unable to resist messing with his younger sibling, despite his frustration.

"Trunks!" Pan reprimanded, smacking him hard on the arm.

Shaking her head, Bulla made her way to her bedroom door, which was located between his and Pan's. She glared at Trunks as she turned the knob and added, "I know you're a guy and I know your kind rarely think with their upstairs brain, but try to remember that other people live here, too."

"I know other people live here," Trunks replied as Bulla stepped across the threshold of her room. "I'm hoping to have sex with one of them very soon."

Shooting him one last glare, Bulla slammed her door shut, not bothering to reply to what he knew was an immature comment. Trunks chuckled at her reaction, not caring that he was being childish.

"I can't believe you," Pan groaned, before hitting him again. "You're going to be the most immature father ever."

"You love me," Trunks stated with a smile, rubbing the spot where she had hit him- twice.

"Unfortunately," Pan sighed, suddenly looking every bit as exhausted as Trunks knew she was.

"We should get some sleep," he said, all traces of humor leaving him in an instant. "You should have gone to bed as soon as you got home."

"I tried," she told him, "but someone decided he'd rather argue instead."

"This isn't my fault," Trunks responded, though he felt slightly guilty, despite his words. That fight was always going to happen, but he should have picked a better time to instigate it.

"Oh, really?" Pan crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow. "If you had just let me go to my room, then we'd both be asleep right now. Instead you got all weird because I didn't follow you to your room."

"I got 'all weird' because I thought we were over."

Pan's arms dropped to her sides and both her brows raised in surprise. "You really thought that?"

"Yeah," Trunks answered. "I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore. I know I was wrong now, so how about you tell me why you don't want to sleep in my room."

"Well… I didn't know if _you_ still wanted to be with _me_ ," she explained. "After everything I put you through, I didn't know how you felt about me. I didn't want to assume and then be embarrassed because-"

A small gasp escaped Pan's lips as Trunks closed the distance between them and covered her mouth with his. He placed his hands on her lower back and pulled her hard against him. Pan moaned as she returned his kiss eagerly, her hands diving into his purple locks and tugging lightly.

" _Go to sleep!_ "

For the second time that night, the sound of his sister's voice forced them apart. Trunks growled in annoyance and grabbed Pan's hand, pulling her, finally, into his bedroom. His normally immaculately clean room was littered with dirty clothes, his self of the past few days too apathetic to even try to put them in a hamper, but his bed was mess free and that was all that mattered in that moment.

Trunks pushed Pan down onto it and, after pulling off her shirt, settled on top of her, his mouth once again covering hers. His hands roamed over her small body, while Pan's dived back into his hair. He put most of his weight on Pan, his forearms taking the rest, while he ground his erection against her, making her moan. Pan wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her back, moving her hips in an attempt to create more friction.

Pushing himself up onto his knees, Trunks pulled off his shirt and then leaned down again to capture Pan's lips. Without breaking their kiss, he reached out and blindly searched for a condom in his bedside table drawer, but he came up empty handed. A moment later, he remembered that they didn't need one. Pan was already pregnant, so…

In an instant, Trunks was off of Pan and on his feet. He was panting hard from their kiss, but his rapid heartbeat was caused by fear, fear that he had hurt his baby.

"What's wrong?" Pan panted, using her elbows to push herself up.

"We can't do this," Trunks replied, running a hand through his already tousled hair.

"What?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and perching herself on the edge. "Why not?"

"It's too risky, Pan," he told her.

"Risky how?"

"I don't want to hurt the baby."

Trunks was an idiot for being so reckless and rough with Pan. She was pregnant, and it was a high risk pregnancy at that; he had to be careful with her, for the baby's sake. He shouldn't be pushing her up against walls and laying on top of her, and he definitely shouldn't be having sex with her. What if she started bleeding again? Because of him? What if she loses the baby because he couldn't keep it in his pants? No, he wouldn't let that happen. If that meant no sex for the remainder of the pregnancy, than so be it.

"The baby will be fine, Trunks," Pan said with a sigh before getting to her feet to stand in front of him. She held his hands in hers and smiled. "Women have sex while they're pregnant all the time. It'll be okay. Come back to bed."

"No." He shook his head vigorously, frustrated that she wasn't as worried as he was. "You don't know if the baby will be okay. What if you start bleeding again? We can't risk it, Pan."

Pan stared up at him for a long moment, her face blank, before she finally nodded. "You're right. Maybe it is too risky. Let's just go to bed instead, okay?"

Feeling his heartbeat slowly returning to normal, Trunks nodded and let Pan lead him to the bed. When they were situated under the covers, he pulled her close to his body until her head was resting on his chest and their legs were intertwined.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair.

"It's okay," she whispered back, her breath warm on his chest. "I love that you already care so much about the baby." Trunks felt Pan squeeze him tight before she added, "You're going to be a great dad."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do," Pan answered. "An immature one, but still great."

Trunks chuckled before placing a soft kiss on the top of Pan's head. "I missed you, Panny."

"I missed you, too," she told him, her words quiet, but obviously slurred as sleep began to take hold, "and I love you."

"I love you, too. Good night, baby." There was no reply and he could tell from Pan's even breathing that she was already fast asleep. He followed soon after after one last kiss to her head.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Propped up on his elbow, Trunks stared down at Pan while she slept, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was well past noon, and although he didn't want her to sleep the day away, Trunks couldn't bring himself to wake her up. If anyone deserved to sleep in, it was Pan.

Yesterday's events had left him exhausted and he hadn't even been the one to go through the worst of it. He couldn't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for Pan. Trunks' smile faltered slightly as unbidden memories of the previous night entered his mind. When he had found Pan on the floor of that bathtub, he'd feared the worst. He had fought one of the most dangerous beings in the universe when he was a just a child, but finding Pan unresponsive and cold… The fear that had gripped him was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

Trunks' thoughts were beginning to become increasingly darker with each "what if" scenario that played out in his head. The storm cloud brewing within him quickly dissipated, however, when Pan, still asleep, rolled onto her back, a small contented sigh escaping her lips when she was comfortable again. His earlier smile returned as his eyes travelled down her body, stopping at her stomach, covered only by a thin sheet.

Reaching out, Trunks placed his hand on Pan's stomach, still flat and unchanged. He still couldn't believe that she had a baby growing inside of her. A baby who would depend on them to help him or her grow, to teach them. It was a scary, yet wonderful feeling.

"What are you doing?"

The sound of Pan's voice drew Trunks' eyes back up to her pale, beautiful face.

"Watching you sleep," he answered simply.

"You do realize how creepy that is, right?" Trunks shrugged and then smiled as Pan rolled her eyes. "Stare at something else, creep. I probably look awful."

"You look gorgeous," Trunks told her without hesitation.

"I bet," Pan said, rolling her eyes again. "Because crusty eyes and tangled hair are supersexy; and don't even get me started on morning breath."

Trunks laughed at her sarcastic tone. "You're sexy no matter how crusty your eyes are." Pan smacked his arm, but he noticed the smile spreading across her face.

"Asshole."

"As for your breath…" Trunks lowered his head, capturing Pan's lips. His arms circled her waist, pulling her closer to him. The urge to rip off her clothes and take her was strong, but he resisted, reminding himself of the reason why he couldn't. After a long moment, Trunks pulled away. Smiling down at a slightly breathless Pan, he said, "You're as sweet as ever. Maybe even sweeter."

"If you say so," Pan replied, still panting.

"I do say so."

Trunks was about to kiss her again, but before he could, Pan suddenly pushed him away and jumped out of bed with a muttered "oh, no" and ran out of the room. A moment later, he heard a door slam shut and the muffled sound of someone being sick. _Pan_.

Trunks quickly got out of bed and hurried across the hall. "Baby?" he called through the door. "Are you okay?"

The sound of the toilet flushing sounded from the other side of the door. "No," he heard Pan say. "Too much cheese."

Trunks furrowed his brow. _Cheese?_ _**"**_ You ate too much cheese?" he asked, confused.

"No," he heard her say after more violent retching and another flush of the toilet, "but all your sweet talk was smothered in the stuff."

"I know that's not true, Panny," Trunks said, laughing.

"You're right," Pan admitted. "It was your face that made me throw up."

Chuckling again, Trunks opened the door just enough to poke his head in. He found Pan standing in front of the sink, toothbrush in hand, her face pale and glistening with sweat.

"I almost forgot how mean you are in the morning," he teased, stepping further into the bathroom. "My face isn't that bad, is it?"

"It's hideous," Pan said, after rinsing out her mouth with water. Her eyes met his in the mirror as he came up behind her. "Seriously, Trunks, you should invest in some plastic surgery. I know you can afford it."

Wrapping his arms around Pan's waist from behind, Trunks rested his chin on top of her head and smirked at her reflection. "You know, no other girl has ever complained about the way I look. In fact, most of them, if not all, have told me that I'm one of the best looking men they had ever seen. Don't get me started on what they said about my body and my many bedroom talents."

Pan's eyes narrowed in obvious anger, causing his smirk to widen. She turned around in his arms and looked up at him. Surprise twisted Trunks' features when he noticed that her annoyed expression was now one of mischief.

"Of course they said that, sweetie," she said in a condescending tone, reaching up with one hand to pat his stubble-covered cheek. "They wouldn't dare insult a paying customer."

It was Trunks' turn to glare, while Pan now wore a smirk similar to his earlier one. "I have never paid for s-"

Pan burst out laughing, interrupting him. A moment later, though, her eyes suddenly widened. Before Trunks could even register the sudden change, she had already pushed him away from her and was kneeling on the cold tile floor, her body hunched over the toilet. Trunks didn't hesitate to crouch down behind her so that he could hold her long black hair out of the way while she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

When she was finally done, she slammed down the lid of the toilet and turned around to glare at him.

"I hate you," she mumbled, making Trunks laugh again.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to the very nice person who made sure you didn't get vomit in your hair," he said, standing tall and stepping away from Pan as she flushed the toilet and stood.

Pan sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking tired, but still glaring at him. "Well I don't feel like being nice right now. _You_ did this to me," Pan stated, pointing at her still flat stomach.

Trunks glanced at Pan's stomach and then back at her face, her miserable expression filling him with sudden sympathy and guilt. Closing the small gap between them, he reached down and pulled Pan to her feet before wrapping his arms around her waist. She pressed her forehead against his chest, but she didn't return his embrace.

"I'm sorry, baby," he told her. "I'm not being very nice either, am I?"

"No," she replied, her voice slightly muffled by his broad chest. "You're being your usual asshole-y self."

"I know," Trunks agreed with a small smile, "and I'm sorry. You're right: this is all my fault. I should've remembered to use a condom."

He felt more than heard Pan sigh as she finally circled her own arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. "It's not all your fault," she said, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. "I'm just as responsible."

"You know," Trunks started, smirking, "I think you're right again. In fact, you might be even more at fault than I am. If I recall correctly, and I do, you were the one who instigated that day in my office."

"What?!" Pan exclaimed, her eyes wide. " _You_ kissed _me."_

"Maybe, but _you_ touched _me_ first. How was I supposed to turn down a beautiful woman who was so obviously throwing herself at me? I'm only human, Pan, and a male one, at that."

Pan scoffed. "You're also a weak one, if all it takes is one touch to completely make you lose all your self-control."

"That's not all it made me lose," he implied with a wink. Trunks smiled at the blush spreading across her pale cheeks. He wasn't sure, though, if her flushed face was the result of embarrassment or desire caused by the memories of that day.

Clearing her throat, Pan said, "It doesn't matter who started it. The end result is the same. We're going to have a baby."

"You're excited for the baby, though, aren't you?" Trunks asked. He knew that Pan was happy that she hadn't lost the baby, but did that mean she was excited about being a parent?

"I am," she replied, beaming up at him. "I really am." Trunks noticed her smile falter a little before she added, "I guess I'm a little sad, too."

The lavender-haired Saiyan's brow furrowed. "Sad? Why?"

Pan's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sad that my mom will never know our child. I'm sad that it'll never know her."

Understanding washed over Trunks followed shortly by an ache in his chest. The raw emotion in Pan's eyes, the desperate yearning in her voice for something that she could never have would've broken the toughest fighter's heart. This was one thing that Trunks couldn't fix; one thing that his money and influence couldn't buy. He didn't know what else to do other than hold Pan tighter and silently vow to spend every day of the rest of their lives making sure she never looked or sounded that way again.

The young couple held each other in the middle of the bathroom for a long while before Trunks pulled away slightly to look down at Pan. Her face was slightly flushed from crying and tear tracks stained her cheeks as she smiled weakly up at him.

"I love you, Panny," Trunks whispered. "I love you and I love our baby."

"I love you both, too," Pan whispered back.

Trunks leaned down to reinforce his words with a kiss, but Pan put her hand over her mouth, effectively stopping him. She pulled it away slightly and simply said, "Bad breath."

Chuckling softly, Trunks kissed her on the forehead instead before stepping away from her completely.

"How about you take a nice hot shower?" he suggested.

"A shower sounds nice," Pan said. She bit her lip and looked up at him with hopeful eyes, adding, "Maybe you could join me."

Trunks felt his length harden as an image of Pan, naked and wet, flashed across his mind. Blinking rapidly to get rid of the tempting image, he shook his head and cleared his suddenly dry throat.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Pan," he replied, his body hating him for his treacherous words. _It's for the best._

"I'll brush my teeth first," she assured him, though they both knew that that wasn't the reason why he was turning her down.

"No, Pan," he told her, his mind still warring with his body. Trunks' resolve almost crumpled when he saw the crestfallen look on Pan's face; but he was determined not to hurt her, so he forced his legs to move toward the bathroom door. "I'll have breakfast waiting downstairs when you're done," he added, stepping into the hallway and shutting the door behind him after she gave him a small nod.

 _It's for the best_ , Trunks reminded himself yet again as he descended the staircase. The throbbing ache between his legs tested his restraint the whole way to the kitchen. _This might be harder than I thought._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Pan**

Pan couldn't help the small sigh that fell from her lips as the hot water rained down on her. It felt incredible, effectively washing away the stress of the previous day. Pan sighed again, this time in frustration. She knew of a better way to relieve stress, but Trunks had adopted a strict no sex policy. Did he really expect both of them to wear a chastity belt for the remainder of her pregnancy? It seemed like an impossible feat to Pan.

Maybe Trunks was right, though; maybe it was better for the baby. Satisfying her needs wasn't worth losing her baby. Pan's body was coursing with hormones, however, and it made thinking rationally almost impossible whenever Trunks touched her. It was entirely possible that they were suffering for nothing. She'd have to remember to ask the doctor if intercourse was safe when she went to her first prenatal appointment; she'd also have to remember to _make_ her first prenatal appointment.

Sighing yet again, Pan pushed all thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on washing her hair and body. By the time she was done, the hot water was lukewarm, but she felt rejuvenated… and hungry. Stepping out, Pan towel dried her body and long tresses and then walked down the hall to her bedroom, the towel wrapped securely around her small frame.

Once in her room, Pan quickly ditched the damp towel in favor of her favorite red shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She decided against shoes and, after throwing the used towel in her hamper, she exited her room and made her way to the kitchen, where she could smell eggs and bacon cooking. The scent of eggs made her slightly nauseous again, but the delicious aroma of bacon made her stomach growl, quelling the sick feeling… for the moment.

What little appetite she had vanished, however, when she rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. The sight before her caused Pan to stop in her tracks and forced thoughts of salty breakfast meats to the very back of her mind. Trunks, who wore a tense expression on his face, was standing at the stove, piling the last of the eggs onto a plate, which he then deposited on a table topped with toast, juice and the bacon she had previously planned on devouring. Those plans went out the window, though, when she saw the man sitting at the table; a man she was all too familiar with; a man who she was not looking forward to talking to- her father.

 **Author's Note:**

 **How was it? Am I a little rusty? I like that it was just a Trunks & Pan chapter. I think some parts might be too cheesy, though. I apologize again for not including Goku & Bulma's reaction to Pan's pregnancy. I've been too busy to even try to get it written, so instead of keeping you all waiting for another month, I decided to post what I had. Please leave a review, if you're in a generous mood, and I'll try to have the next chapter posted before too long. **

**Oh, thank you to every new follower & everyone who has favorited this story, &, of course, everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate all the support **

**-Chels xoxo**


	24. The Reason

**Happy Saturday! I'm back! So this chapter isn't too long, but it's better than nothing, right? I hope you're all still with me & that you don't hate me too much :)**

 **Me w/o Us is by Set it Off**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Hey! Goku's reaction is finally here. Took me long enough, right? Lol I hope it doesn't disappoint :)**

 **To destiny18-au: Hey, hon! Thank you for another review. It means a lot. I hope you're doing well :)**

 **To TeeLee123: Hi, hon! Thanks for reviewing again. I think it's cute, too, how protective Trunks is. I hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

 **To Nadja: Thank you for the review! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)**

 **To CrimsonDynamo: Thanks again for the review, hon. Sorry about the long wai** t.

 **To Guest: I'd never abandon this story. Thanks for the review :)**

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: The Reason**

 **Pan**

Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god. Pan's face remained blank as she stared at her father, but inside she was panicking. Why is he home already? I thought I had at least a few more hours, maybe even a day.

"There you are," her father said, when he finally noticed her standing in the entryway. "I thought we were going to have to start eating without you."

He was smiling, but Pan could clearly see the tension in the older Saiyan's shoulders before they relaxed slightly. She glanced at Trunks who gave her a tight lipped smile before pulling out a chair for her. It was obvious the two Saiyan men still had some issues to work out and that they were not ready to be alone in the same room. At least they didn't kill each other. That's a step in the right direction..

Pan smiled weakly back at Trunks before sitting down directly across from her father, Trunks taking the seat to her left. Silently, the three Saiyans began loading their plates with food. Pan, who still had no appetite thanks to the unexpected arrival of her father, just grabbed a piece of toast & some orange juice. She nibbled on the crispy piece of bread, struggling to come up with something to say. An awkward silence had fallen over the room and Pan was desperate to fill it, preferably before her dad did. If he spoke first, he might ask why she was at the hospital last night, and she wanted to delay that conversation for as long as possible.

Before she could say anything, however, a noise sounded from somewhere deeper in the house. They all turned their heads in the direction it came from as it continued. It was quiet for a moment before a new sound reached their ears- a clicking sound. Pan quickly realized it was the sound of high heels making contact with the tile floor of the foyer. The echo of the front door slamming shut soon followed it and then all was quiet again. Her first thought was that it was Bulla- that girl would wear heels in a snowstorm- but then she glanced at her father and wondered if maybe it was someone else. She grasped at the opportunity to finally break the silence.

"Was that Bulma who just left?" Pan asked, then hesitantly added, "Shouldn't she be resting after what happened."

Her dad's body stiffened again at the reminder of last night's events and Pan suddenly regretted saying anything at all. Should've stuck with the awkward silence.

"No," he answered, after a moment's pause. "She's actually still at the hospital. I just stopped by to get some clean clothes for her. She should be discharged later on today. The doctor said her blood is clotting just fine, so there shouldn't be any complications."

Pan noticed her father's face pale a little as he looked down at his large plate of food. She knew he had to be thinking about when her mother was in the hospital. There had been complications then, serious complications… life ending complications. Tears pricked at Pan's eyes and she blinked rapidly to get rid of them before anyone noticed.

Clearing her throat, Pan forced a small smile onto her face and said, "That's really good to hear. Do you have time to eat with us, though? Shouldn't you be getting back?"

"I have some time. I don't know what they gave her last night, but she was still fast asleep when I left. Besides, I'm starving." He smiled sheepishly at her before scooping up a forkful of scrambled eggs. After chewing & swallowing, he fixed his gaze on her again and said, "Speaking of the hospital," Oh no. "Are you finally going to tell me what you two were doing there last night?"

Pan shot Trunks a sideways glance as she chewed the piece of toast in her mouth slowly, trying to delay the inevitable for as long as she could. He met her gaze, his blue eyes silently offering her encouragement and strength. She knew he was eager to come clean, to have no more secrets between them and their family, but it was so hard to get the words out, especially considering the circumstances.

"Why were you there, Pan?" her father repeated after almost a full minute of silence. His plate of food sat abandoned, a testament to how worried he was. "Was it something serious? Are you okay?"

"Yes, Papa, I'm fine," she reassured him, putting her half eaten toast down, "I told you last night that everything was okay."

"But you were at the hospital for a reason," he stated, clearly frustrated. "Tell me why you were there, Pan."

"I don't know if I can," Pan confessed quietly, staring down at her hands, which now rested on her lap.

"Why? You said it wasn't serious, so why can't you tell me? Were you lying?"

"No, I swear," she told him, glancing up to meet his eyes briefly before looking away again. "I just- I don't-" Pan exhaled heavily, frustrated that she couldn't get the damn words out. Man up, Son. Just get it over with, like you're ripping off a band aid.

She was never good at doing that, though. It was always her parents or brothers who she went running to as a little girl when it hurt too much to take off. She remembered begging her mom one time, when she was no older than five, to give her a senzu bean instead of covering her small scrape with a bandage. Tough as she was, she was defeated by those sticky bastards every damn time. Until she got older that is and she learned to tolerate pain better. Thanks to Trunks.

Turning her head to the left, Pan met the crystal blue eyes of the purple-haired Saiyan sitting beside her. He gave her a small reassuring smile as he gazed at her affectionately. Her parents and siblings weren't the only ones who saved her from a slow pain. Trunks was always there when she needed him. He was the one who taught her how to handle pain, sparring with her whenever she wanted, conditioning her. Band aids were no match for her anymore; but this wasn't a band aid, was it? She'd actually prefer if it was.

The feeling of something squeezing her hand drew Pan's gaze down, back toward her lap. Trunks' hand was wrapped tightly around hers, warm and comforting. She followed the path of their hands as he lifted them to his mouth and gently kissed her knuckles. Pan felt him smile against her skin before he lowered their entwined hands to the table. Out of the corner of her eye, Pan saw her father shift uncomfortably in his seat. I almost forgot he was here; I almost forgot what I had to do… almost.

Squaring her shoulders, Pan smiled gratefully at Trunks, silently thanking him, before turning her attention back to the man across from her. The feel of Trunks' skin against hers reminded Pan that she wasn't alone in this; it was the push she needed.

Inhaling deeply, Pan met her father's dark gaze, and said, in a rush, "I'm pregnant." She couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped after the words finally left her mouth. There, I said it, it's done.

"What?" her dad asked, his brow furrowing.

Pan groaned inwardly. Seriously? Saying it once was hard enough. "I'm pregnant, Papa," she repeated, finding it just as hard to say the second time. Please don't hate me.

"Pregnant," Goku repeated, before slumping back in his chair and growing quiet. Pan couldn't help but fidget in her seat as the silence stretched on. Finally, after what felt like forever, he straightened, rubbing a hand over his face. "That's why you were at the hospital," he stated, his eyes focusing on her.

"Yes," she answered, even though it wasn't a question. "I was… bleeding." Her stomach churned at the memory. "Trunks and the boys found me and insisted I go."

"I see," he said. Clearing his throat, he then asked, "You said you were, um, pregnant, so I'm guessing the, uh, baby is okay?"

Pan simply nodded. Her father was clearly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure, though, if it was because he was upset with her or if it was because there was only one possible way she could have gotten pregnant and he didn't want to think of his little girl doing that. Pan suspected that it was the latter since he refused to look at her as he continued.

"That's good." It is? Does that mean he isn't upset? A smile was spreading across Pan's face, but it fell when Goku open his mouth again and asked, "Who's the father?" Are you fucking kidding me?

"Seriously?" Pan voiced out loud, furious. "You can't be serious. I can't believe you just asked me that. Trunks is the father, Papa. I know he told you we were together. Hell, we're holding hands right in front of you." She raised their joined hands briefly before continuing, "It should be obvious that he's the father."

"Well, I haven't been the most attentive of fathers, Pan-" You think? "-and I'm sorry for that, but you can't blame me for asking. I just learned about you and Trunks yesterday. There could have been other boys."

"I'm not a slut," she growled.

Goku continued to avoid direct eye contact as he stammered out, "I know, Pan, I just- You were dating that nice boy, Paul, for a couple of months. I just thought maybe…" he trailed off, but it was obvious what he thought… to everyone.

Trunks' grip tightened on her hand, his whole body going stiff. Pan could feel the waves of anger rolling off of him. He released her hand as he stood abruptly, knocking his chair back in the process.

"It's my child, Goku," he seethed, speaking for the first time since Pan came downstairs. "Mine. How dare you insinuate otherwise."

Placing a hand on Trunks' arm, Pan urged him silently to calm down. His fists were clenched and his chest was rising and falling rapidly; she was afraid he might hit her father if she didn't reign him in. A part of her, though, also felt oddly happy. If there was any doubt in her mind that Trunks wanted this baby, it was now gone.

After a couple of moments, Trunks began to calm down. His breathing slowed and his hands unclenched, but he continued to glare at her father as he picked up his fallen chair and sat back down. The air was thick with tension and Pan was sure they would drown in it if someone didn't speak soon. The sound of the front door slamming made them all jump slightly. It shattered the unbearable silence, though, and Pan was grateful that Bulla- because it had to be her, right? Goten didn't wear heels as far as she knew- chose that moment to come home.

Goku cleared his throat and finally met Pan's eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I really am. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I guess I was just surprised. I'm happy for you, though. Don't think that I'm not. I know you must have been scared to tell me because of everything that's happened, but you shouldn't have been. I'm not mad. Shocked maybe, but not mad. That was honestly the last thing I expected you to say. I don't know if any father is prepared to hear that their little girl is pregnant. I-"

"What?!"

A high-pitched voice made everyone jump again and drew their attention to the kitchen entryway. Pan felt all the color drain from her face as she gazed upon the woman standing there.

"Bulma," her father gasped, surprised. He rose from his chair and took a step toward his wife, but she raised a hand, halting his progress. Pan glanced at him; he looked uneasy as he asked, "What are you doing home? I thought-"

"I discharged myself," Bulma answered. She was speaking to her husband but her narrowed eyes were on Pan. "I called Bulla to pick me up since you weren't there."

So that's where Bulla went. The bluenette was standing right behind her mother and Pan had to resist the urge to glare at her, lest Bulma think it was directed at her. Suddenly Pan wasn't as grateful that Bulla came home when she did. Maybe all of this could have been avoided if they came home just a couple of minutes later. Pan wasn't ready for Bulma to know that she was pregnant- she hadn't even been ready to tell her father- but it seemed the cat was out of the bag. It was clear that Bulma had heard enough to figure it out.

Her father, brave soul that he is, took another step forward, despite Bulma's raised hand. "We should get you upstairs. You should lay down and rest."

Bulma finally turned her icy stare on her husband, effectively stopping him in his tracks again. "I don't want to rest. Why weren't you there when I woke up, Goku?"

"I came back home to get you some clean clothes," he replied. He eyed the sweatpants and plain black t-shirt that she wore. Gift shop clothes? "I guess I didn't have to, though. I'm sorry, Bulma; I thought I'd make it back to the hospital before you woke up."

"Is that so?" The blue-haired woman's eyes flickered to the forgotten plate of food sitting on the table near her father and then back to his face. "Maybe you would have made it back in time if you hadn't decided that breakfast was more important than your wife."

Damn, Pan thought. I get that she's grieving, but she's being unnecessarily harsh. Is it my fault, because of what she heard?

"I'm sorry." Goku said again, hanging his head. Pan was beginning to get angry at Bulma for treating him this way. She wasn't the only who lost a child.

"Stop it, Bulma." Pan stood and approached her stepmom. "Cut him some damn slack. My dad was with you all night. Let him have some damn breakfast."

"You," Bulma began, fixing Pan again with her cold stare. "Is it true?"

Pan didn't need to ask what she meant; she already knew. "Yes," she told her. "I'm pregnant. We-" She gestured behind her where Trunks was still sitting. "-are pregnant."

Pain flashed behind Bulma's eyes. She glanced away in an obvious attempt to hide it. Her stepmother never did like to show weakness. When Bulma looked up again, her eyes were once again hard and cold.

"Congratulations," she spat out. Turning her glare on her husband, she added, "I think I will go lay down." Her father made to follow her as she started to turn away. "Don't follow me," she hissed.

A moment later, she was gone. Goku stood between the table and the kitchen entryway looking lost; Bulla stood just outside the room, chewing nervously on her bottom lip; Trunks still sat at the table, his head now in his hands; and Pan… She wrapped her arms around her small body, the memory of Bulma's cold, blue eyes chilling her to the bone.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So? I know it's not as long as the last chapter, but I had to give you guys something. What do you think of Bulma's and Goku's reactions to the pregnancy? Do you think they were understandable? Too much? Let me know your thoughts**

- **Chels xoxo**


	25. Perfect (Part One)

**Hey, guys! I typed as fast as I could to get this chapter posted for you today for Valentine's Day. I'm sorry about the long wait. I hope you all enjoy it**

 **To LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta: Well, I have never been pregnant & I have never experienced a miscarriage, but my mom has & she had really bad mood swings for about a month after she lost the baby. She would sometimes yell at someone for no reason at all. Bulma had a temper before she lost her baby, so I figured it would be amplified after experiencing something so traumatic. Thanks for another review & sorry about the wait :)**

 **To Sailor Saiyan007: Thank you for the review I think Bulma's reaction was understandable. My mom & a friend of mine both lost babies & they both took out their anger & pain on the people around them. My mom picked fights with my stepdad all the time after it happened. Of course, I don't think all women would react the way Bulma did. I think the pain of experiencing a loss like that would worsen the temper that she already had. Anyway… I hope you like the new chapter :)**

 **To destiny18-au: Hey, hon! Thanks for the review. I can't imagine losing a baby. My mom lost a baby when I was nine & it devastated her. Being a mom yourself, I'm glad you never had to experience something like that :)**

 **To Enidan: Hi! Thanks for the review. Sorry it took me so long to update. I feel the same way about Goku & Bulma. I can't imagine losing a baby.**

 **To Guest: I would never abandon this or any story. Thank you for reviewing :)**

 **To Guest: Bulma was mean, but she was grieving. It can't be easy losing a child. Thanks for the review :)**

 **To Guest: Thank you for your condolences. That was very sweet of you**

 **To Guest: I'm not sure what you meant by "too much", but I'm still sorry you feel that way. Was it Bulma's reaction? I wish you had an account so I could message you directly lol Thank you for leaving a review :)**

 **To Guest: I know the review you left was for chapter three, but still, thanks for reviewing. You were very right about Trunks liking Pan :)**

 **Chapter Twenty-FIve: Perfect (Part One)**

 **Trunks**

"Well, that went well," Bulla commented, sarcasm dripping from her tone as she stepped into the kitchen after their mom had stormed off.

Trunks lifted his head from his hands where he sat at the table and scowled at her. She glanced at him briefly before sinking down in the chair previously occupied by Goku, obviously unaffected by his death stare.

"Damn," Goku exclaimed, before rushing out of the room, presumably to find his wife and calm her down.

 _Good luck with that_ , Trunks thought, sighing deeply. Looking up at Pan, he noticed how her small frame shook as she hugged herself tightly. He immediately jumped up, his chair scraping against the tile floor and almost falling over in his haste, and quickly closed the distance between them, his arms enveloping her in a protective embrace. Her own arms unwound from around her body and went around his lean waist.

Trunks squeezed her tightly while she buried her face in his chest and groaned. "That was horrible."

Bulla snorted. "You think?"

Pan turned her head in Bulla's direction, she and Trunks both glaring at her. The bluenette simply shrugged and grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate on the table.

Untangling herself from him, Trunks watched as Pan approached his sister, hands on her hips as she asked her angrily, "Do you seriously think this is funny?"

Bulla narrowed her eyes, swallowing the bite of bacon she had been chewing, and replying, "Of course I don't, Pan. This is the opposite of funny. You guys seriously have the worst timing."

" _Us_?" Pan repeated, practically shrieking the word. "How was I supposed to know that you were going to walk in on us with your mom? You think this is how I wanted her to find out?" Pan's hands moved from her hips to cover her face. "God, she hates me."

Stepping up behind her, Trunks placed his hands on Pan's shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "She doesn't hate you," he told her. "She's just hurting and she took it out on you."

Trunks led her to the chair she was sitting in before everything hit the fan and pushed down on her shoulders, prompting her to sit down. He was already worried about how all the stress he knew she was feeling would affect the baby; he could at least get her off of her feet while she freaked out. Pan sank into her chair blindly, her hands still covering her face.

Sighing again, Trunks walked to the cupboard and grabbed a mug, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot he had left brewing while they had eaten and talked. He was stressed as well from the disastrous encounter with his mom and he wished he could make the beverage Irish. Deciding that one in the afternoon was probably too early to start drinking, Trunks started to walk back to the table, leaving his coffee black and nonalcoholic.

"Can I get a cup of that, too, please?" Pan asked, finally removing her hands from her face and looking up at him as he neared her.

"Um…" Trunks glanced at Bulla who gave him a subtle shake of her head before looking back at Pan. "You can't have caffeine, Panny." The raven-haired beauty furrowed her brow. "The baby, remember? It's not good for the baby."

Realization dawned on Pan's face before she frowned and groaned, slumping back in her chair. "Yeah, right, I wasn't thinking. Bulma hates me and I can't have coffee. This day officially sucks."

"You can have coffee, Panny," Bulla started. "Just not the caffeinated kind."

Pan rolled her eyes at her best friend. "What's the point if it doesn't have caffeine?"

"Have some juice instead, Pan," Trunks offered, pouring her a glass of orange juice after setting his cup of coffee on the table and taking his seat beside her.

Noticing Pan eyeing the hot beverage longingly, Trunks moved it further away from her so she wouldn't be tempted by the rich, alluring smell. Unfortunately for him, that move brought it closer to his sister who proceeded to pull the cup the rest of the way across the table to her side. He watched in disbelief as she took a tentative sip before wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Oh, my god, Trunks. How can you drink this sludge without any cream or sugar?"

Trunks continued to watch Bulla as she got up and walked to the refrigerator. After pulling out the bottle of creamer, she walked to a cupboard and pulled out the sugar. Trunks finally found his voice again when she started adding everything to his cup of coffee.

"What the hell, Bulla?"

Glancing over her shoulder in his direction, his sister continued to stir his coffee with a spoon she had pulled from a nearby drawer. "What?" she asked innocently.

"You know what," Trunks seethed. "That was my coffee."

"Key word there being _was_." Tossing the used spoon in the sink, Bulla turned back to them as she took another sip, smiling in obvious approval as she rejoined them at the table.

Trunks continued to glare at her as he watched her enjoy _his_ cup of coffee. Did he mention it was his? "You're unbelievable."

"I'm unbelievable?" the bluenette repeated incredulously. "No, no, no, dear brother. That title belongs to you. You totally owe me this cup of coffee. Hell, you owe me a freaking new car. You are aware that these walls are super thin, right?"

Trunks glanced at the wall he practically destroyed when Goku punched him across the room, pieces of the white plaster still littering the floor. They definitely weren't the thickest walls, but still, he couldn't help but wonder where she was going with this. "I guess."

"They are," she practically growled. "So I can hear everything that goes on in both of your rooms and the hallway and I have had to endure your little sleepovers for over a month." Bulla turned her blue gaze on Pan. "Sorry, Son, but like I said forever ago, you aren't as quiet as you think you are."

"Oh, my god." Pan's face turned pink before she hid it, yet again, with her hands.

Bulla scoffed. "Man, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that come out of your mouth while I was trying to sleep, I'd be rich. Well, rich-er."

Pan lowered her hands to glare at her. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," Bulla stated. "You love me because I put up with all of that. I can't count how many times I was tempted to break down the door of whichever room you two were screwing in and spritz you with water like you were a couple of horny cats. If I didn't think I'd have to scratch my eyes out afterwards, I probably would have." She looked at Trunks again as she continued. "Last night was more of the same, minus the sex, thank God. _I love you and I really want to bump uglies, but we can't because of the baby, blah, blah, blah_. Try dealing with things like that and then some for weeks." Her eyes narrowed to slits as she added, "I might have mentioned it to Pan once, but I have never bitched about it until now, so don't you bitch about a single cup of coffee, dear brother. I can guarantee that I need it more than you."

"Uh…" Trunks didn't know how to respond after his baby sister's rant. Pan, who looked even redder now, was apparently speechless, as well.

Bulla smirked victoriously as she got to her feet and turned to leave. As she exited the room, Trunks could hear her muttering to herself. "This house is made of freaking goddamn cardboard, I swear. We have more money than God and yet our walls are shit…" Her voice trailed off as Trunks heard her ascend the stairs, leaving him and Pan in silence.

After a moment, Pan spoke. "Well… isn't this just the best day ever?" The obvious sarcasm in her voice made the corner of Trunks' mouth quirk up in amusement.

"It hasn't been that bad," Trunks argued, his small smile fading as he remembered the pain and anger in his mom's eyes.

"Not for you, maybe." Pan turned her eyes on his cup of coffee before focusing on him again. "You get to have caffeine. Do you know what I get? I get stupid juice; I get to have your mom pissed at me." She paused, her usually pale face suddenly even paler. "I get to throw up every five seconds," she added, before jumping up and practically running to the trash can in the corner. Bending over it, she emptied her stomach for the third time that day.

Miraculously, Trunks had managed to make it over to her in time to save her freshly washed and still damp hair from a messy situation. He rubbed soothing circles on her back until she was finished purging her body of the meager breakfast she had eaten not even an hour before.

"Better?" he asked, as she straightened, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"No," Pan replied, her face sweaty and still white as a sheet, "but ask me again in about eight months."

Trunks chuckled as he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her small body. She rested her soft cheek against his chest, her own arms circling his waist and squeezing tight. Despite everything that had happened, Trunks couldn't help the contented smile that spread across his face as he held his girl in his arms.

Then the sound of his mom's indiscernible yelling from the floor above them filled the comfortable silence that had fallen, effectively ruining the moment.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The entire floor of the house was covered in egg shells. At least that's what it seemed like to Trunks. Ever since his mom had found out that Pan was pregnant a couple of days ago, a thick layer of tension seemed to invade the once warm and cozy dwelling. She didn't stay locked in her bedroom like Trunks thought she would; instead, she moved about the house constantly, cleaning or organizing random rooms, rarely taking a moment to eat or sleep.

Everyone, he and Pan especially, practically tiptoed everywhere they went, afraid to alert her to their presence and face her wrath, which she was not shy about expressing. Trunks could hear the pain behind her words whenever he came across her and was forced to endure her shouting because he didn't use a coaster or was breathing too loudly. He knew she was hurting so every time she managed to corner him, he simply grit his teeth and let her yell at him; but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to avoid it if he could.

Bulma hadn't uttered another word to Pan since what his sister dubbed "the incident" in the kitchen, but his mom was always glaring at her whenever they inadvertently crossed paths. Goku seemed to have it worse than they did, however. Not only did he have to put up with his wife's temper, but he had also been kicked out of their bedroom, forced to sleep on the couch.

Trunks was currently pacing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Pan to finish getting ready and praying that his mom wouldn't find him before they could escape. He had managed to get Pan an appointment with the best OBGYN in the country and as soon as she was ready, they would leave.

A noise from the other room made Trunks pause, anxiety coursing through him. Assuming it was his mom, he braced himself for another confrontation. Maybe she would yell at him just because he was standing around, minding his own business; or maybe she'd yell at him again for simply breathing. I wasn't even breathing that loudly, for God's sake. Who knew a person could get in trouble for basically continuing to exist?

The person who walked around the corner, however, wasn't his mom; it was Goku. Trunks relaxed, but only slightly. He and his stepfather were still a little uncomfortable around each other.

"Trunks." The older Saiyan nodded at him.

"Goku," Trunks replied, nodding back in acknowledgement.

"I've been looking for you; I need to talk to you," Goku told him. "Do you have a second?"

Trunks glanced up the stairs briefly before nodding again. "Sure. What is it?"

"Let's talk in here." Goku gestured to the room he had just emerged from, the living room-slash-his temporary bedroom.

Trunks somewhat reluctantly followed his stepfather into the room, hoping this conversation didn't end with him embedded in another wall.

 **Pan**

 _Two Weeks Later_

"Don't you just love October?" Bulla asked.

Pan glanced over at her friend briefly as they walked the three blocks from the mall to Trunks' office. She knew he would be upset to know she was walking instead of driving, being the annoyingly over protective daddy-to-be that he had become, but he was the one who practically pushed her out the door this morning when Bulla suggested they have a "spa day". He even gave her his credit card to use.

The dark-haired girl had spent the past five hours being reluctantly dragged around town by the bubbly bluenette for mani-pedis, facials, makeovers at a mall make up counter and dress shopping. Pan herself preferred to wear jeans and a t-shirt, but Bulla insisted.

"You're going to be way too fat to shave your legs soon," she had said. "Might as well wear pretty things while you can. This might be the last time you even have the option of wearing a dress until the baby is born, so shut up and be a girl for one damn day." It had been hard to argue with her, mainly because Bulla wouldn't let her argue.

Her best friend had then made her buy a dress that she had chosen herself and forced her to wear it out of the store, the clerk having dutifully rung up their purchases and bagged the clothes they had worn into the store. Pan had to admit that she loved the dress that Bulla had picked out.

The garment was a very light mint green, so pale that it looked almost white under the bright light of the fall sun. It had spaghetti straps and she loved the way the skirt flowed over her legs, stopping just below her knees. Bulla had also insisted she buy a pair of strappy white sandals to show off her new pedicure. The blue-haired beauty herself looked radiant in a floral dress, the long skirt falling almost to her ankles, and a pair of cute pink heels that she had found to go with it.

"There's a time and a place for heels," Bulla had said when Pan suggested she just get sandals like her. "Always and on my feet."

Pan had to admit that she felt confident and beautiful after their day of pampering, but she had no intention of doing it again anytime soon, no matter how much she loved the end result. She didn't get the same amount of joy out of it that her friend did.

"I guess," Pan finally answered. "Halloween is pretty awesome."

"Who cares about Halloween?" The bluenette scrunched up her nose like they were talking about something gross rather than a fun holiday that involved dressing up, something that Pan knew Bulla enjoyed. "This is, like, the best month ever. The weather is perfect; it's not too hot, not too cold. All the leaves are changing colors. It's beautiful."

"Right," Pan said. She glanced around at the multi-colored foliage and wondered if her friend was coming down with something. She's never cared about leaves before. "October is definitely one of the top three best months," she added, jokingly.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that." Bulla gave her a broad smile.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, no reason."

 _Yup, definitely coming down with something. I hope it's not contagious_ , Pan thought as they walked through the doors of the towering building where she used to work. A short elevator ride later, they were entering the reception area outside of Trunks' office.

Pan smile politely at the petite brunette behind her old desk. "Hi. Can you tell Mr. Brief that his girlfriend and his sister are here to see him, please?"

"Of course." The girl, who looked to be a few years older than Pan, smiled shyly. She was pretty enough and Pan felt a momentary twinge of jealousy before she reminded herself that she had nothing to worry about. She pressed a buttton on the intercom. "Mr. Brief?"

"Yes, Sarah," came the disembodied voice of Trunks.

The timid girl's lips pursed in what appeared to be annoyance. "Your sister and girlfriend are here to see you, sir. Should I send them in?"

"Yes, thank you, Sarah."

Sarah smiled tightly as she looked up at them again. "Go on in." Pan thanked her and they began walking away, but the girl's quiet mutterings caused them to pause. "It's not Sarah, it's Sakura, _Sakura_."

"That idiot doesn't even know that poor girl's name," Bulla whispered as they started walking again. "Typical."

"He said he had a lot of temps since I left," Pan mentioned as she pushed the heavy door open. "It must be hard for him to remember all those names."

"Don't defend him," her friend chastised, pushing past Pan into the room. Her blue gaze quickly found her brother sitting behind his desk. He smiled when he saw them, but it faded as soon as his sister started yelling. "That girl's name isn't Sarah, asshole."

"What girl?" he asked, standing. "My secretary?"

"Do you know another 'Sarah'?" Bulla inquired, though she clearly wasn't expecting an answer. "Her name is Sakura. She has to put up with you, so the least you can do is remember her name."

"O… kay," Trunks said slowly. "Why do you care so much, Bulla?"

"I don't," she admitted, exhaling sharply and running a hand through her azure locks. "Well, I do a little because you're such an ass for not remembering a simple name. Ugh. I think the stress is just getting to me."

"What are you talking about?" Pan asked, raising a brow.

Bulla's hand froze in her hair, her eyes widening. "Nothing, nothing at all." The bluenette started backing away, her hand reaching blindly behind her for the doorknob. "I need to get going, but I'll see you two back at the house." She turned and slipped through the door, but not before winking in Trunks' direction.

"She has been acting weird all day," Pan stated, turning to face Trunks.

"She's been weird all her life," Trunks joked, though the smile on his face seemed strained. Pan didn't have time to question him about it because a moment later, she was smothered in the warmth and safety of his muscular arms. She couldnt help melting into his embrace, her arms circling his narrow waist. "You look amazing," he told her, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"You don't look too bad yourself." It was true. He was wearing charcoal grey suit pants with a black dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and a light green tie that almost matched her dress perfectly. _Huh. Weird._ "Ready to get out of here?" she asked, pulling away slightly to meet his eyes.

Trunks groaned as he straightened. "I guess we have to."

"We could stay here instead," Pan suggested, her voice low and, hopefully, seductive. She slid her hands around to his front and tucked her fingers into the waistband of his pants.

"We could," Trunks said, smirking. "But what could we possibly do in my stuffy office?"

"I have a couple of things in mind," she told him before rising up on her tiptoes.

Her lips captured his in a lingering kiss that quickly turned heated. Trunks buried his hands in Pan's hair while hers tugged on his belt, pulling him closer. He pulled away, however, when she tried to unbuckle it, gently pushing her hands away from his crotch.

"I thought you said no more sex in my office," Trunks reminded her, panting.

"I can change my mind, can't I?" Her hands returned to his belt buckle, but Trunks pushed them away again. She groaned in frustration. "Seriously, Trunks? The doctor said it was okay."

Pan had made sure to ask her new OBGYN about it at her appointment a couple of weeks ago. He had said that it was perfectly safe, but Trunks still refused to do anything that involved penetrating her. They satisfied each other's needs other ways, but Pan always felt a lingering ache afterwards. She longed to be filled by him again, but he still continued to deny her. Her patience was running out fast and she knew it had to be hard on him, too. _No pun intended_ , she thought, almost laughing out loud. Her sexual frustration quickly smothered her momentary amusement, though.

"I know he did." Trunks kissed her forehead, smiling down at her as he pulled away. "Soon, I promise."

"Why not now?" Pan asked, disappointment consuming her. "Is it because the last time we had sex in here, I got pregnant? I'm pretty sure that won't happen again until I have _this_ baby."

Trunks chuckled. "I'm not worried about that. I just don't want the picnic I have planned to go to waste."

"Picnic?"

The raven-haired girl frowned at Trunks as he walked back around his desk and produced a wicker basket from under it.

"I thought you might be hungry after the long day you had." Pan's stomach growled at that exact moment making Trunks laugh again. "Plus, it's beautiful outside. October is really nice, isn't it?"

Pan's hunger was temporarily forgotten as she frowned at him again. "What is it with you Briefs and October? Bulla wouldn't shut up about it earlier." Trunks simply shrugged before donning his suit jacket. He walked back to her with the basket and grabbed her hand, leading her out of his office without so much as a nod at Sakura. "Why aren't you nicer to her?" Pan asked.

"She isn't you," he said, making Pan smile. "She's lucky, though; she's lasted longer than the other temps."

"And what was wrong with them again?"

"I missed you and they weren't you. The only reason I haven't fired Sarah is because I have you back; and I suppose she's competent enough."

Pan noticed that he called his secretary by the wrong name again, but she knew it was pointless to correct him; she doubted he'd ever remember. "Do you think I can have my job back after the baby is born?"

"You can have anything you want." Trunks lifted their intertwined hands and kissed the back of hers, smiling against her skin.

Before too long, the two Saiyans were walking out of the building and in the direction of the large park down the street.

"You know," Pan started, after a few minutes of silent walking. "I don't think either of us is dressed for a picnic. I wish you would've told me earlier; I could've worn shorts or pants."

"I think you look perfect."

"Still, I could change. I have my old clothes in that bag I left in your office. Why don't I go back real quick and-?"

"But we're already here."

Indeed they were. Pan looked out at the acres of lush green grass. She could see picnic tables laid out over the surface, so she figured that her pretty new dress would be safe from grass stains as long as she was careful. Her growling stomach only solidified her decision to stay.

"All right. Let's eat then."

Trunks led her to a picnic table under a tree with red and orange leaves. She tucked her dress under her legs before sitting down, Trunks joining her after unloading the contents of the wicker basket. To Pan's surprise, the picnic consisted of chilled cider, finger sandwiches and little skewers of cubed fruit. The whole meal was delicious and by the end, Pan- and the baby- were happy and full.

"Care to take a little walk?" Trunks asked after disposing of everything, including the picnic basket. Pan had raised a brow at that but she hadn't questioned him about it, too content to care.

"Don't you want to go home?" She was still surprised that he hadn't carried her back home the moment she stepped into his office, and even more surprised that he let her walk the few blocks to the park. Maybe he was finally loosening up and coming to terms with the fact that no harm was going to come to her and the baby every time she exerted a bit of energy or left his sight.

"Soon," he simply replied, his eyes twinkling.

It was a lovely day and Pan wasn't really eager to go back home. "Okay. A walk sounds nice." Trunks smiled as he took her hand. They walked along a paved path, the green grass and sparse trees eventually giving way to a more landscaped area with flower beds and trimmed bushes. "Is this some sort of garden?"

"Looks like it."

They headed toward a central area with a large fountain surrounded by park benches. A row of tall hedges lined the far end of the clearing. Trunks pulled her to the edge of the fountain and she leaned forward, pulling her hand from his and letting the cool water cascade into her open palms.

Smiling, she dropped her hands to the stone edge of the fountain and closed her eyes, tilting her head up to bask in the mid afternoon sunlight. "It's so beautiful here."

"I was just thinking the same thing about you," she heard Trunks say from behind her.

Pan opened her eyes and turned around, ready to scoff and roll her eyes at him… but instead they widened in surprise and shock. Trunks was no longer standing; he was kneeling and in his hand was a beautiful ring with a single diamond. Her mother's ring.

 **Author's Note:**

Well? What'd you guys think? I had more to write but I didn't have time to fit everything that I wanted to, so there will be another chapter, plus the epilogue. I really wanted have this posted by Valentine's Day, but I'm a little late because was being stupid. Leave a review if you're not too mad at me for the long wait and I'll try my hardest to update soon-ish.

-Chels xoxo


	26. Perfect Part Two Preview

**IMPORTANT:** This is not the entire chapter. I haven't been able to complete it for several reasons, the main ones being because I've been sick TWICE this past month & because the boyfriend & I went through another rough patch. I wanted to give you something, though, so here's the beginning of chapter twenty-six. It's actually a decent length, about five or six pages. I still plan on including this part when I upload the entire chapter, so you can read it now or wait for that. If you do read it & want to leave a review, please be aware that if you do that, you won't be able to leave a review on the completed chapter twenty-six since that one will replace this preview chapter. Thanks for your patience, guys! Bear with me a little longer. We're almost at the end!

*Made minor edits to chapter twenty-five. They probably won't be noticeable, but I still wanted to let you all know.

 **Chapter Twenty-Six: Perfect Part 2 (Preview)**

 **Trunks**

 _Two Weeks Earlier_

A noise from the other room made Trunks pause, anxiety coursing through him. Assuming it was his mom, he braced himself for another confrontation. Maybe she would yell at him just because he was standing around, minding his own business; or maybe she'd yell at him again for simply breathing. _I wasn't even breathing that loudly, for God's sake. Who knew a person could get in trouble for basically continuing to exist?_

The person who walked around the corner, however, wasn't his mom; it was Goku. Trunks relaxed, but only slightly. He and his stepfather were still a little uncomfortable around each other.

"Trunks." The older Saiyan nodded at him.

"Goku," Trunks replied, nodding back in acknowledgement.

"I've been looking for you; I need to talk to you," Goku told him. "Do you have a second?"

Trunks glanced up the stairs briefly before nodding again. "Sure. What is it?"

"Let's talk in here." Goku gestured to the room he had just emerged from, the living room-slash-his temporary bedroom.

Trunks somewhat reluctantly followed his stepfather into the room, hoping this conversation didn't end with him embedded in another wall.

"Pan and I need to leave soon," Trunks mentioned as they entered the room, hoping it would speed the conversation along. He didn't want them to be late for Pan's appointment.

"I'll make it quick," Goku promised, gesturing at the couch for Trunks to take a seat. The younger Saiyan would've preferred to stand, wanting to be ready in case the conversation didn't go well, but after a moment's hesitation, he eventually relented & sat down on the very edge of the sofa cushion. He continued to eye the other man warily, though, as he paced in front of him.

"What's this about?" Trunks asked a few moments later, when Goku still hadn't said anything.

The black-haired Saiyan stopped pacing at the sound of Trunks' voice and turned to him. Goku put his hand in the right pocket of his orange gi and stared at him for another moment before finally speaking. _So much for making this quick_ , Trunks thought, mentally rolling his eyes.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" His voice and face were stern as he stared down at Trunks.

"Intentions?" he repeated, puzzled. "I don't-"

"You got Pan pregnant," Goku interrupted, the tone of his voice somewhat accusatory. "Now what?"

Trunks narrowed his eyes as he stood, slowly, the accusation in his stepfather's voice making his blood simmer. _Maybe I'll be the one to throw the first punch this time._

"If you're asking if I plan on marrying Pan, then you don't have anything to worry about. I already proposed to her. In fact, I asked her before she got pregnant and she said yes, which was a damn miracle considering everything that was in our way at the time. I love her, baby or no baby, and I _intend_ to make her my wife, if that's what she still wants. I don't know if her feelings about marriage have changed, but I'm all in, if she is."

"I see," Goku uttered quietly, after a moment of tense silence. "Chi Chi was right then," he continued, a small, sad smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Chi Chi…? What are you talking about?"

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Trunks' attention, and he looked down just as Goku pulled a folded piece of white paper and a burgundy string pouch from his right pocket.

"When my wife died," the older Saiyan started, "she left a letter for each of us: me, the boys and Pan. I don't know what she said in her letters to the kids and they don't know what she wrote to me; we never talked about it." Trunks knew what Pan's said. She had mentioned it the night she came home and then in more detail yesterday. Goku's, however- as well as Gohan and Goten's- were a complete mystery to him.

Trunks could see the unshed tears in Goku's eyes as he continued. "I read it as soon as I found it in the top drawer of her bedside table a few days after we buried her. She talked about some memories we shared, the people in our lives that she would miss, the kids, especially; and she mentioned you."

"Me?" Trunks repeated, confused, still not sure where his stepdad was going with this.

"Yes. I actually didn't know it was you she was talking about until recently. Like I said, Chi Chi mentioned a few people in her letter, but there was only one she didn't refer to by name. I know now, without a doubt, that it was you she was talking about."

"But why didn't Chi Chi use my name?" the purple-haired boy asked, his original confusion mounting.

"I don't know exactly, but I think that she thought I might interfere." He chuckled and then smiled sheepishly at Trunks. "If that was the reason, then she was right to not use your name."

 _Would've been better for all of us, though, if she had been less cryptic_ , Trunks thought, bitterly. _Then maybe my mom wouldn't have married Pan's dad._

"Anyway," Goku continued, "she wanted Pan to have something, and she asked me to give it to you when the time came so that you could give it to her."

Goku closed the distance between himself and Trunks and then proceeded to hand the younger man the burgundy pouch he had pulled from his pocket. Wordlessly, Trunks took it, the small bag almost weightless and the velvet soft against his skin. He loosened the top and shook whatever was inside into his open palm; a small ring with a singular diamond fell into his hand, surprising the lavender-haired Saiyan. His shock seemed to only intensify as he realized that it was Chi Chi's wedding ring. The ring, coupled with her request that he be the one to give it to Pan, added up to only one thing in Trunks' mind: Pan's mother had obviously known how he felt about her daughter, had known before he had even figured it out himself, and she foresaw them eventually finding their way to each other.

"But how?" Trunks muttered quietly, half to himself. "How did she know?"

"Chi Chi always was smart," Goku replied, with an affectionate smile for his deceased wife, "and observant. She noticed things most people didn't. In her letter, she said there was already a man in Pan's life that she was sure our daughter would marry. Chi Chi told me to give this person her wedding ring 'when he finally got his head out of his ass long enough to realize he loved her'. Her words, not mine.

I tried to figure out who it might be, I even considered you for a very short moment; but you used to be like a brother to Pan, before you two grew apart. Plus, you're so much older than her. I ruled you out pretty fast, but I guess I shouldn't have. Chi Chi obviously noticed something I didn't."

Trunks was surprised at how easily Pan's mother had seen right through him. He thought he had been pretty convincing; he was certainly convincing enough to fool Pan for years.

"We didn't grow apart; I pushed her away," Trunks admitted. "My feelings for her changed and I did all I could to make her hate me because our age difference seemed like a big deal at the time. But then she got older, and the difference between twenty-four and eighteen didn't seem as bad as it did when she was fourteen and I was twenty. Then I fell in love with her. Hell, I think I've always loved her. She's always been special to me."

"Good." Goku nodded approvingly. "Because she is special, Trunks. Treat her right. You clearly have Chi Chi's approval. I never doubted her judgement when she was alive and I'm not going to start now, so you have mine, as well." Trunks smiled warmly at his stepfather, the bad blood between them seeming to evaporate in an instant with those few words and the ones that followed after. "I've always liked you, Trunks, despite who your father is."

The two Saiyans chuckled before an angry voice interrupted them. "Goku! Were you the one who tracked in mud?!"

The man in question groaned. "Sounds like your mom is on the warpath again. You better grab Pan and go."

Goku slapped Trunks on the back before leaving the room, supposedly to answer for the mess he had made. _Good luck, Goku_.

Turning his attention back to the piece of jewelry in his hand, Trunks began forming a plan in his head. His original proposal- if he could even call it that- was pathetic. It wouldn't be hard to outdo it, but he wanted to make it special. He would need his sister's help.

Trunks heard light footsteps descending the stairs, and had managed to stuff the ring and the pouch in his pocket right before Pan rounded the corner.

"There you are," she said, smiling at him from the entryway.

"Here I am," he replied, returning her smile.

"You ready?"

"Of course."

Closing the distance between them, Trunks couldn't help but stare at Pan as he approached. In simple jeans and a black tank top, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"You're staring again, creeper," Pan teased, still smiling.

"You know you love it," Trunks countered, as he finally reached her.

"Lucky for you." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it affectionately as he let her lead him to the front door. He could feel the small pouch and ring against his leg as he followed her, reminding him of what he was planning to do.

 _Yes_ , he thought with a smile as they stepped outside into the bright sunlight, _I_ am _pretty damn lucky._

 **Author's Note:**

Please read the important notice at the top, if you haven't already. Thanks!

-Chels xoxo


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